Talent Factory – Our Junior Research Groups
The Talent Factory serves as an integral component of the CTC’s research and transfer strategy, aligning with the overarching mission to foster an ecosystem for innovation and excellence in chemical research and enabling technologies. Ultimately, comprising up to 40 independent research groups, the Talent Factory operates as a dynamic hub for nurturing novel and ambitious ideas and promoting creative exploration within the thematic areas of the CTC.
Through its commitment to fostering emerging talent and cultivating groundbreaking research, the Talent Factory stands as a cornerstone of the CTC’s vision for advancing scientific discovery and driving transformative change within the chemical industry. The CTC supports research across the full spectrum from fundamental science to applied innovation and technology transfer, ensuring that novel ideas can mature into impactful solutions for society and the economy.
Computational Biorefineries
Why Biomass?
Chemistry shapes nearly every product in our daily lives. Yet 90% of the raw materials feeding today's chemical industry are still fossil-based. Biomass—such as microalgae or lignocellulose from wood—offers a renewable alternative. In a circular economy, biorefineries play a central role: they fractionate biomass into its main components—lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, lipids, and proteins. These serve as bio-based precursors for materials, solvents, lubricants, additives, and platform chemicals. To fully unlock the potential of biomass, we must develop resource-efficient fractionation processes with high yields.
Research Objectives and Focus
- Computer-aided design of bio-based molecules and biorefinery processes
- Model-based prediction of molecular and mixture properties
- Solvent screening and design, catalyst selection
- Model-based optimization of biomass fractionation processes
With Computational Biorefining, we aim to lay the foundation for a bio-based circular industry – from the biorefinery process to the final product.
Beyond Substitution – Designing Circular Chemicals
Simply replacing fossil feedstocks with renewable ones is not enough. Future chemicals must be circular by design: biodegradable, easily recyclable, able to close material loops, and capable of meeting stringent industrial performance requirements.
Compuational_Biorefining_Group_Picture
Dr. Laura König-Mattern and Tim Tegtmeier © Dr. Laura Lintis
"Our work is driven by one goal: designing molecules that enable a chemical industry that respects the limits of our planet – sustainable from the biorefinery process up to the final product." – Dr. Laura König-Mattern
Our Approach: Computational Biorefining
Our research advances this vision by computer-aided molecular and process design:
- Predicting solubilities, phase equilibria, and partitioning coefficients
- Developing novel extraction strategies for biorefineries
- Model-based optimization of biomass fractionation yields
- Selecting optimal solvents and catalysts
Overview_LKM
Focus on computer-aided molecule and process design to develop novel bio-based chemicals through bottom-up discovery and top-down design. © Laura König-Mattern
Once extracted, these bio-based precursors are converted into circular chemicals. To achieve this, we develop computer-aided molecular design tools to create molecules that are both industrially functional and inherently circular.Currently, our focus is on lignocellulose-derived surfactants. In the future, we aim to extend these approaches to solvents, additives, lubricants, and polymers.
Our Research Group Leadership
Contact and Further Information
Teaching
- Winter terms 2015–2019: Simulation Engineering, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
- Summer terms 2020–2023: Process Systems Engineering, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
- Winter terms 2025/26: Sustainable Systems in Chemistry, University Leipzig
News
- Tagesspiegel article (German) “100 brightest minds in science”: New ideas for the circular economy: These scientists are leading the industry in new directions
- Press release German Thesis Award: Laura König-Mattern wins 2nd place at the German Thesis Award
Selected Publications
- L. König-Mattern, L. Rihko-Struckmann, and K. Sundmacher, “Systematic solvent selection enables the fractionation of wet microalgal biomass,” Separation and PurificationTechnology, vol. 354, p. 129 462, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2024.129462
- L. König-Mattern, E. I. Sanchez Medina, A. O. Komarova, S. Linke, L. Rihko-Struckmann, J. Luterbacher, and K. Sundmacher, “Machine learning-supported solvent design for lignin-first biorefineries and lignin upgrading,” Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 495, p. 153 524, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.153524
- L. König-Mattern, A. O. Komarova, A. Ghosh, S. Linke, L. K. Rihko- Struckmann, J. Luterbacher, and K. Sundmacher, “High-throughput computational solvent screening for lignocellulosic biomass processing,” Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 452, p. 139 476, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2022.139476
- J. Kopton, L. K. Rihko-Struckmann, L. König-Mattern, and K. Sundmacher, “Superstructure optimization of a microalgal biorefinery design with life cycle assessment‐based and economic objectives,” Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 1515–1527, 2023.
- L. König-Mattern, S. Linke, L. Rihko-Struckmann, and K. Sundmacher, “Computer-aided solvent screening for the fractionation of wet microalgae biomass ,” Green Chemistry, 10.1039.D1GC03471E, 2021.
