Professorship for Sustainable Chemistry of Renewable Organic Resources

Organisational unit: Professoship

Organisation profile

The Professorship of Sustainable Chemistry of Renewable Organic Resources at the Institute of Sustainable Chemistry at Leuphana University Lüneburg focuses on research involving bio-based materials and related products, their flows and processes, attempting to understand and incorporate the most recent advances also from other fields, including options that do not involve chemical processes when they can potentially offer a more sustainable alternative to current products, procedures and services.

Emphasis is given to the sustainable food systems framework, based on critical thinking to generate more resilient, regenerative, and healthier structures. In this context, the research lines cover the design, development, and application of sustainable separation, especially extraction, to obtain and/or determine bioactive and other high-value compounds, from lab to larger scales, aiming at the production, distribution, consumption and management of biomass and / or agro-industrial chain “wastes”, considering the UN sustainable development goals.

Main research areas

As well-known, there is an urgent need for optimised and renewable organic resource use for greener and more sustainable production and processing systems worldwide. Many of the current food, beverage, nutraceutical, plant product and raw material production technologies for these sectors are responsible for various socio and environmental problems, encompassing soil and water impact, contamination at several levels and even generating an excess of biomass or other products which are called “waste“, a material culturally considered wrong in place and time.

To face such challenges and produce more inclusive, accessible and fairer, healthier food for everyone around the globe, new approaches focusing on sustainable agriculture, bioindustries and biorefineries have emerged, such as those created and developed by our research group based in Lüneburg, Germany, involving research lines such as:

-    Foundation and application of Green and Sustainable Chemistry (taking into account circular economy and bioeconomy), focusing on Analytical Chemistry.
-    Sustainable Separation (sample preparation, determination of compounds of interest, as well as traditional and alternative processes on different scales).
-    Design, development and application of greener and more sustainable analytical methods.
-    Extraction and transformation of bioactive compounds obtained from biomass.
-    Determination of endogenous and exogenous compounds in complex matrices (e.g., food and environmental ones, packaging, toys).
-    Case studies considering integrated aspects of the Sustainable Food and related Systems framework.
-    And any other very good idea that emerges…

Regarding our teaching and outreach activities, we encompass the key elements designed and applied at Leuphana, where the sense of contemporary education crosses the boundaries of a purely subject-specific course of study, combining specific knowledge with interdisciplinary skills, qualifying our students for constantly changing demands in the world in realistic and positive ways. In doing so, topics related to green and sustainable chemistry focusing on renewable compounds are presented and discussed in our lectures, seminars laboratory sessions, and supplemented by additional exercises.

  1. 2025
  2. Published
  3. Published

    Sustainable Development: Prioritizing Attributes and Validating Factors for the Success of Green Startups in Brazilian and German Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

    Oliveira, A. Y., Mendes, J. A. J., Zanon, L. G., Gerolamo, M. C. & Zuin Zeidler, V. G., 03.2025, In: Business Strategy and Development. 8, 1, e70083.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Green Extraction and NMR Analysis of Bioactives from Orange Juice Waste

    Penteado, P. S., Leal, M. C. B. D. M., Carosio, M. G. A., dos Santos, A., Segatto, M. L., Pavarini, D. P., da Silva, D. F., Amaral, J. C., da Silva, M. F. D. G. F., Zuin Zeidler, V. G. & Ferreira, A. G., 02.2025, In: Foods. 14, 4, 14 p., 642.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. 2024
  6. Published

    Advancing sustainable chemistry education: Insights from real-world case studies

    Araripe, E. & Zuin Zeidler, V. G., 12.2024, In: Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 9, 10 p., 100436.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Defining greener, healthier and more sustainable toys: A case study of L.O.L. Surprise!

    Fachina, S., Araripe, E. & Zeidler, V. G. Z., 01.10.2024, In: Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy. 41, 10 p., 101661.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Why gender matters for addressing chemical pollution

    Wang, M., Balayannis, A., Rother, H. A., Hemmati, M., Holthaus, A. & Zuin Zeidler, V., 01.09.2024, In: The Lancet Planetary Health. 8, 9, 1 p., e611.

    Research output: Journal contributionsComments / Debate / ReportsResearch

  9. Published

    Mainstreaming regenerative dynamics for sustainability

    Fischer, J., Farny, S., Abson, D. J., Zuin Zeidler, V., von Salisch, M., Schaltegger, S., Martín-López, B., Temperton, V. M. & Kümmerer, K., 08.2024, In: Nature Sustainability. 7, 8, p. 964–972 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Digitalization paving the ways for sustainable chemistry: switching on more green lights

    Zuin Zeidler, V., 14.06.2024, In: Science (New York, N.Y.). 384, 6701, adq3537.

    Research output: Journal contributionsComments / Debate / ReportsResearch

  11. E-pub ahead of print

    A theoretical framework to support green agripreneurship avoiding greenwashing

    Mendes, J. A. J., Oliveira, A. Y., Santos, L. S., Gerolamo, M. C. & Zeidler, V. G. Z., 23.05.2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Environment, Development and Sustainability. 57 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  12. Published

    Sustainable chemistry and food systems lessons-the same procedure as every year?

    Zuin Zeidler, V. G., 09.02.2024, In: Science (New York, N.Y.). 383, 6683, eado2352.

    Research output: Journal contributionsOther (editorial matter etc.)Research

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