23 22 Bioreactors will play a key role in the circular economy of the future – no matter what kind of microorganisms they cultivate. Expertise in process automation is essential in order to ensure that the systems can reliably produce biomass in the desired quantities. Festo provides its customers and partners with intelligent control cabinet solutions for bioreactors. The entire control cabinet consists of a central element containing the process control system, and smaller sensor and actuator units decentrally distributed throughout the plant. I/O systems process the electrical signals, and valve terminals control the pneumatic drives. Communication takes place via fieldbus technology. What is currently still only a niche market in biological production will undergo extensive development in the coming years. Thanks to innovative process automation, entire plants can be built from individual production modules, and they can be easily commissioned and remotely maintained. Automated bio- reactors have the potential to produce basic materials for industrial value-added processes around the globe – in a resource- saving and energy-efficient way. Process automation Control cabinets for bioreactors Whether it be in science, pharmaceuticals or medicine: the LifeTech specialists from Festo are automating work in the laboratory. With intelligent solutions, they are relieving humans of time-consuming and error-prone tasks such as manual dispensing, pipetting or analysing. The LifeTech business unit is developing highly efficient, miniaturised systems that reliably and safely cover the entire process chain in the laboratory. In this way, a wide variety of samples and vessels can be handled within only a short time, and minute volumes of fluid can be pipetted and dispensed – with auto- mated control of all processes. The innovative components are also to be found in point-of-care systems for flexible sample analysis independent of location. In the fast-growing field of medical technology, especially the piezo valves and mass flow controllers from Festo are proving their worth: they ensure safe operation of sensitive surgical equipment, anaesthetic gas mixers and portable respirators. The innovative piezo technology can also be used for pneumatically supported medical mattresses; this relieves the burden on patients and care staff alike. They secure the most important function of detergents and cleaning agents, cosmetics and plant protection products: surfactants dissolve and bind fats. To date, these substances have been synthesised from fossil raw materials in chemical processes. More sustainable in terms of climate and environ- mental protection, however, is their biotechnological production on the basis of organic raw materials. Renowned companies and research institutions are turning their attention to this promising field for the future in the strategic “Innovation Alliance for Biosurfactants”. Festo is one of the cooperation partners in this consortium, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. In special research reactors, the automation specialists breed bacteria that are fed with vegetable oils or sugar from residue materials. The microorganisms also need oxygen and nutrients to reproduce and to produce surfactants by biological means. An innovative automation solution ensures suitable living conditions for these organisms: by means of soft sensor technology from Festo, the total quantity of biomass can be determined on the basis of available measurement data – such as supply of air and nutrients, temperature, pressure, pH value, filling level, and oxygen and carbon dioxide content. The virtual sensor is implemented on a programmable logic controller. Via control algorithms, the automation technology ensures an optimal supply of the bacteria for production of the desired biosurfactant. Biological, not chemical The Innovation Alliance for Biosurfactants LifeTech Laboratory automation and medical technology If biology and physics are to merge in the worlds of production and if organic cells are to become the factories of the future, know-how and expertise are required. But where does this knowledge come from, and what needs to be learned in order to gain it? As a learning company, Festo is ideally prepared thanks to its decades of involvement with bionics and related issues. However, the dynamism brought about by industrial biologisation in the sense of a holistic circular economy must be accompanied by a similar dynamism in the field of learning and education. The specialists at Festo Didactic are working very intensively to achieve this synchronisation. Their aim is to analyse the new requirements for knowledge, define interdisciplinary links and establish innovative training professions and courses of study. Biomechatronics, bioinformatics, bioengineering, biocybernetics and sustainability management? The paradigm shift affects future-oriented business fields and professional requirements in equal measure. This is why Festo is already today setting the course for the biological transformation of the economy with worldwide commitment. Only with education can the global challenges of the 21st century be met responsibly. Didactic Into the future with education
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