Enjoying fresh shrimp? They would be even better if the tons of shells left after peeling weren’t just tossed in the trash, but served a beneficial purpose for green chemistry. In the Northern Netherlands, a unique refinery technology is being developed that transforms shrimp shells into a raw material for paints and coatings, bioplastics, water purification and medical applications.

Everything starts with an idea A vision of R&D manager Rob Pikkert of Telson seafood led to a surprising interplay with the chemical industry in the Northern Netherlands. “It all started with our desire to bring shrimp peeling back to the Northern Netherlands, instead of having it done Morocco”, recalls Pikkert. “The shrimp peeling company GPC Kant – we are under the same roof with them in Lauwersoog – developed a peeling machine with a similar level of quality and productivity as the manual peelers abroad. Only, what do you do with all those tons of shrimp shells that are left?"

Scalable technology

Waste costs money, and it has no place in a circular economy. So Telson and Kant looked for a way to use the shrimp shells for other products. They were on the right track, because shrimp contain a substance called chitin that can be transformed into chitosan. “When chitin is transformed into chitosan it has all kinds of valuable characteristics”, explains the R&D manager. “So we threw out a line to the chemical industry in the Northern Netherlands, and now we are in a consortium working on a scalable refinery technology for shrimp shells. We’ve concentrated on end-uses like paints and coatings, bioplastics, water purification and medical applications. Those products require an increasing degree of complex chemical processing.”

Biodegradability

As yet, lorries still transport some 500,000 kilos of unpeeled shrimp per week to Morocco. But because the shrimp shells can be used for new applications, increasing quantities of shrimp are now being peeled entirely by machine in Lauwersoog.

 “That means a huge drop in CO2 emissions, and a much fresher product, as well as employment here in the region”, Pikkert says. “Also, in taking this step we are contributing to the greening of chemistry. Refined chitosan can play a major role in the transition to biodegradable raw materials and intermediary products – like fibres, polymers and composites.”

The consortium is now working to scale up the refinery technology and set up a pilot plant in the harbour of Lauwersoog (slated for completion by end 2019). It then expects to further expand the trial factory into a full-fledged refinery.

If you are a doctor, how do you manoeuvre a surgical scalpel through a human body? Doctors do that using the Cardiac Bioptflex, an instrument that lets them to access the heart very precisely and slice away a sliver of tissue.

This advanced steering system was developed by a young enterprise called DEAM Products. “We did it working together with cardiologists at the University Medical Centre Groningen”, says Jules Scheltes, one of the company’s owners. “The benefits of the collaboration are double-edged: We get the expertise of the medical specialists, and from now on, they get to enjoy a new instrument that lets them perform operations in an easier, safer and less expensive way.”

The Bioptflex is one of the many high-tech products created at Health Hub Roden. “It’s a place where business and technical minds come together”, says Health Hub Director, Peter Boonstra, “Open innovation is the result.” Dozens of start-ups and SMEs rent space at Health Hub Roden, and also share the use of technical facilities. Like a laboratory for chemical and microbiological research, and the ‘Fab Lab’, a digital workshop with 3D-printers, scanners and laser cutters.

The successful business centre was created on the foundations of the American company Cordis. The catheter manufacture closed its shop doors in 2009. A number of highly qualified employees didn’t leave it at that. They set up an independent venture in development of medical appliances and technology.

An ingenious robot takes on the job

From the start, the initiative had the wind under its wings. "MedTech is booming”, says Boonstra. “Healthcare has a huge shortage of personnel right now. And there is also a growing demand for medical technology that can be used to treat patients in their home environment. For diagnoses and treatments, small devices and instruments are needed. We think them up and produce them here.”

Another major factor in our success is the involvement of knowledge institutes: vocational-technical schools, applied sciences institutes, universities and hospitals. For example, nursing students work at the ‘Hub’, alongside technology students. “They think up practical solutions to all kinds of everyday problems”, Boonstra says.

 “How do you get an elderly lady's compression stockings on and off easily? That is a very common and time-consuming activity for home-care staff.” At Health Hub Roden an especially exciting innovation is now in the works: an ingenious robot that can do these kinds of everyday jobs in the future.

For the businesses here, but also for investors, the innovative environment offers huge potential. “Together we make sure innovations are taken up and flourish”, Boonstra says.

When faced with ailing cattle, farmers often have only one remedy: Problem? Shot of antibiotics. Herman de Boer, professor of molecular biology, cringes at that, “I thought, there has to be another way, right?”

Use of antibiotics in livestock farming is a serious global problem. The same types of antibiotics are applied for people and animals to combat bacterial infectious diseases. The danger is bacteria becoming resistant, and then the antibiotics no longer work. “That would unleash a humanitarian disaster”, the scientist warns.

After a long international career, Prof de Boer decided to dedicate himself to the biggest health problem in livestock farming: udder infections. That condition costs farmers dearly in medication expenses and losses in milk production. “Dairy farmers fight ‘mastitis’ mainly with antibiotics. And it’s no wonder, because no effective alternatives are available right now.”

Everything starts with an idea

Cows are extremely hardy animals, Prof de Boer explains. So he asked himself, “Couldn’t we use cows’ own immune system to counter this kind of infectious disease?” He joined up with a team of experts to conduct extensive laboratory research. “Our starting point was that we only wanted to work with natural substances, derived from the cow itself. We didn’t use any additives or chemical substances that were externally derived.” That approach put us in completely uncharted waters. “The research was very complex. A real treasure hunt.”  

Despite all that, Mastivax succeeded in developing natural medications with the power and quality to stabilise the udder’s remarkable milk production system. Now the phase of on-farm field testing has begun. According to De Boer, “We have to prove how effective our preparations really are. I believe in them. But it will be up to the cows themselves to decide.”

The molecular biologist expects to have the medications and a treatment protocol, on the market within a few years. “We want to produce hard evidence that can convince dairy farmers that our medication works just as well or even better than antibiotics. A real alternative."

When the dreaded fungal infection Phytophthora rears its head, a field of potatoes can be reduced to mush in no time. So, farmers are eager to prevent the disease. Every few days they preventively spray all their fields with chemical fungicides. 

Everything starts with an idea

That spraying is often done according to an established formula, a regular pattern and a set schedule. “There is a more accurate and efficient way”, says Dacom Director Janneke Hadders. “If producers know in advance where and when the fungus is going to strike, they can combat the infection in a more effective and environmentally friendly way.” 

It's not only potatoes. Carrots, onions, strawberries and grapes also have their own strains of funguses. Dacom has succeeded in outsmarting these scourges, thanks to years of research and practical experience. “We know how funguses develop. We know what temperatures and air humidities trigger them, how they then behave and the lifecycle they go through”, Hadders says. 

Dacom links this knowledge about fungal diseases to a wide array of parameters, like weather forecasts, soil conditions, growth models and plant characteristics. The company has hundreds of weather stations set up at farms worldwide. These gather information on the spot. 
It also uses open databanks, data analytics and satellite images.
By linking all that information with operational data from the farmer, a breakout of a fungal disease can be very accurately predicted and prevented.

The right time, the right place, the right amount

Dacom’s Smart Fungal Advice Model still tells farmers that they need to spray, but now that happens in a more targeted way. “We help figure out the right time, the right place and the right amount of chemical fungicides to use. The principle is like the use of sunscreen for people; you only apply it when the sun is shining.” 

Dacom’s business model is based largely on subscriptions. Farmers receive recommendations for a fixed fee. They can access the information easily online. At home on the laptop, or in the field via smartphone. 

The services are now being used in more than forty countries. "We can provide targeted recommendations for crop farmers in the United States and Australia too", says Hadders. Accurate to the metre? Hadders smiles, “You bet.”