Within the environmental research the DBU seizes the chance of trend-setting environmental topics when promoting scientific investigations.Here the interdisciplinary co-operation is of crucial importance. For the dissemination of research results and the conversion into practice it is important to support the dialogue and the co-operation of universities and research institutions with enterprises.

The processing of sugar beet molasses via chromatographic methods represents the focal point one co-operation between the Institut für Technische Chemie of the University of Hanover and the Amino GmbH. Target of this project is the direct production and optmisation of active pharmaceutical substances and bio chemicals like amino acids and betaines, which are mainly achieved during classical-chemical procedures (oil chemistry). The purification is an energy-intensive and waste water-rich process where these reusable materials, e.g. the amino acid L-sterin, only occur in extremely small concentrations of fewer than 1% of the raw material. By development of an innovative analysis system (FIA), which has been based on the principle of intelligent bio sensor technology enables a reduction of the chromatography cycles and leads to a 25% higher yield as well as a 60% higher product concentration can be obtained. Detailed process analytic leads thereby to a substantial saving of energy and water of up to 30%, a reduction of waste water volumes and a reduction of CSB, nitrogen and salt freight of up to 35%.

From - as they are called - bio films - costs of more than 100 million € result annually in Germany. Bio films are micro organism mucus and lead often to a problematic blockage of filters and valves, as well as to corrosion and hygienic problems. In particular the pharmaceutical industry is affected as well as the food and the paper-technical industry. Wide-spread measures are preventing of an overdosing of disinfectants, which brings considerable environmental impacts. The quantity of disinfectants, used for instance for the cleaning and disinfection of bottling plants in breweries, moves within the range of some 100,000 kilograms. It does not only lead to loads of waste water and sometimes also to intensified corrosion, but often also to impairments of a purification plants downstream, since the non-specific killing effect of the disinfectants can destroy also those desired micro organisms, which are responsible for a waste water purification. In a co-operation project between the breweries Bitburger and Rolinck and the Universities of Duisburg and Osnabrück for the first time new optical sensors for the monitoring of bio films in production process have been used and enable an identification of the micro organisms involved. By these molecular-biological methods it is possible to use detergents and disinfectants on bottling plants surfaces only at completely special points. Thus one can obtain up to a 50% decrease of the biocide use. Beyond that a 20% reduction in energy, which is necessary for the cleaning of the process system with hot water, is attainable. This methodology is exemplary for other industries with biofouling problems as well as for the water purification, heat exchanger technology and the production of colours, lacquers and cosmetics.

A new generation of paints was developed by the AURO Pflanzenchemie AG from Braunschweig. It offers natural colours based on regenerating raw materials and without hazardous and health-endangering solvents; result of a large research and development project which received more than 500.000 € financial backing from the DBU. The new lacquers, glazes and primers show a paint-technical quality so far unequalled with natural colours in accordance with European standard EN 927. The binders are based on agricultural products such as linseed oil, sunflower oil and rape-seed oil for a wide range of applications like for wax coatings, floor seals and wood glazes.

Within a sustainable agriculture the farmers have to arrange on the one hand their production that their economic and fundamental principles of life are guaranteed, on the other hand that the eco-system - e.g. habitat for plants and animals - around their manufacturing areas are preserved as far as possible and neighbouring ecological systems are not impaired. On the part of the last years' research a multiplicity of results was compiled showing how farming can be ecological arranged. In this connection further research requirement exists, it so far succeeds only insufficiently to transfer soon the scientific realisations into practice. Two reasons are considerably responsible. First the information flow from the research institutions to the individual farmers is not optimal. A further reason for the lack of information about research results is the missing consolidation of the various detailed information. It is left to a large extent to the individual farmer to arrange from such information an optimal production procedure.

The DBU implemented a team named "Information System for Integrated Plant Production (ISIP) with the Landwirtschaftskammern of Rhineland, Westphalia, Hanover and Weser-Ems as well as with the Rhineland-Palatinian Landesanstalt for Pflanzenbau und Pflanzenschutz in order to develop an internet-supported decision system, which supplies the necessary knowledge from appropriate data bases and current field elevations to advisors or farmers providing them with sensible and comparable alternatives according to the requirements for the decisions. Thus the Institut für Zuckerrübenforschung jointly developed with different associations, turnip farmers and plant protection services a decision making tool to control foliate diseases of sugar beets. Project target is the advancement of present strategies for the integrated control of fungal foliate diseases and the fast introduction to agricultural practice. An economically meaningful and environmentally friendly plant protection system is developed and inserted by integration of prognosis models and monitoring.
Potatoes are affected of acute threats by various rots and rank at the highest plant protection expenditure per agricultural surface. Target of another DBU project is it to reduce the use of fungicides in potato cultivation by advancement and improvement of Internet-supported decision making tools. The introduction and intensive use of the Phytophthora warning service a reduction of the fungicide expenditure around 10-35% on the potato cultivated area in Germany of approx. 300,000 hectars (1998) is expected, leading to a clear environmental discharge as well as an acceptance increase for the information spreading via Internet apart from any other economic advantage.