The recent presentation by André Valkenburg, held on May 7, 2026, at 6 pm at UCT’s Snape 3C and via the online stream, was a great success.
André did a fantastic job of directing his talk toward the students, keeping the entire audience engaged and interested in the future of sustainable engineering. Drawing from his PhD research conducted under Professor Pott, André provided a deep dive into novel processes for the sustainable production of biosurfactants. He focused on the fermentation-based production of sophorolipids, which are high-performance, biodegradable surfactants. A particularly compelling aspect of his talk was how this technology is designed to be integrated directly into existing vegetable oil refineries. By leveraging renewable feedstocks and existing infrastructure, his approach offers a path toward cost-effective and scalable production.
It was also inspiring for the students to hear about his transition from student to research to commercialization in collaboration with Stellenbosch University.
The talk was highly informative and perfectly suited for our student members.
