Team BIOSURFERS representing AgroParisTech came in first place with their innovative method for producing a biosurfactant lipopeptide, whilst eliminating some of the problems of this process. The team members of Biosurfers are Erick Cruz, Sajjad Malekzadeh, Carla Mendiola, Luisa Olarte, Rangsimatiti Saichompoo and Raffi Shakhmuradian.

Surfactants - like those often used in detergents, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and more - are often petrochemical based. Bio-based replacements, that is bio-surfactants, are becoming increasingly important as a way to lower environmental impact. However, it is difficult to commercially scale up production of lipopeptides to replace the conventional surfactants because bio-based lipopeptides come with challenges such as excessive foaming during aerobic production, alteration of surfactant properties in the presence of antifoaming agents and expensive downstream processing.

Biosurfers' competition entry focused on making an enhanced amount of the lipopeptide lichenysin through using a genetically modified strain of bacillus licheniformis. Furthermore, the process is more sustainable and reduces waste because the fermentation byproducts can be used for producing biogas.

Belgian team CharBuild came in second place with a single integrated reactor for the integration of biochar into cement - eliminating the usual need for three reactors. Arne Desmyter, Asmae Guerbaoui, Fran Van de Velde and Tilly Van Hecke from the University of Ghent developed the reactor which makes cement with improved insulation and compressive and flexural strength. The process also reuses the byproducts of pyrolysis, bio-oil and biogas, creating a circular energy system and reducing fuel costs by 46%.

Third place went to Slovenian team Evapotricity from the University of Ljubljana. Maks Brus, Matic Jančar and Vid Rozman proposed an innovative bio-based solar evaporator made of lignocellulose nanofibers that could produce drinking water from non-potable water. The evaporator is based on the principle of accelerated evaporation, which is powered by solar energy, and can therefore provide drinking water for people living in remote communities.

The annual BISC-E competition is part of BIC’s efforts to promote entrepreneurship in education by challenging students to propose breakthrough bio-based innovation to resolve environmental, societal or economic issues. National heats take place in several European countries. National winners compete in a first round where a jury of academic experts selects the top five. The five finalists then present to the industry expert jury and engage in Q&As.

BISC-E 2024 finalists:

• Team B-CharGen (Riga Technical University) - Linda Alsiņa, Mairis Iesalnieks and Kalvis Liepiņš
• Team Biomeiler (Utrecht University) - Lasse Lamet, Emma Luitjens, Jouke Nabuurs, Reyza Natawidjaja, Teun Perdok and Patrick Silva Cheinquer
• Team Biosurfers (AgroParisTech) - Erick Cruz, Sajjad Malekzadeh, Carla Mendiola, Luisa Olarte, Rangsimatiti Saichompoo and Raffi Shakhmuradian
• Team CharBuild (University of Ghent) - Arne Desmyter, Asmae Guerbaoui, Fran Van de Velde and Tilly Van Hecke
• Team Evapotricity (University of Ljubljana) - Maks Brus, Matic Jančar and Vid Rozman 

You can watch all five finalists' videos and a live stream of the final round of the competition on the BIC YouTube channel!