{"id":117793,"date":"2022-11-03T07:02:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T06:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=117793"},"modified":"2022-10-31T11:53:20","modified_gmt":"2022-10-31T10:53:20","slug":"biorefineries-the-engine-of-the-bio-based-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/biorefineries-the-engine-of-the-bio-based-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Biorefineries \u2013 the engine of the bio-based economy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Much of Europe\u2019s manufacturing sector is reliant on fossil fuel-derived compounds, such as plastics and chemicals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Eni\u2019s green refinery in Porto Marghera (Ve) is the first worldwide example of a reconversion of a refinery into a biorefinery, which can turn raw materials of biological origins into high quality biofuel. [Eni \/ Flickr<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

To decrease the EU\u2019s reliance on imported oil and gas, the European Commission is funding so-called \u201cbiorefineries\u201d, which turn organic matter into materials that can replace fossil-produced items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBiorefineries today are turning food waste into useful and safe ingredients for food, feed and fertilisers,\u201d said John Bell, director at the European Commission\u2019s research and innovation department, who oversees the EU\u2019s bioeconomy strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can upcycle biological waste or plastic waste with enzymes and other smart technologies,\u201d he told EURACTIV in an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, there are 803 biorefineries in the EU, according to a 2018 report<\/a> by the Commission\u2019s in-house research service, the Joint Research Centre. Of those, 177 are reported as integrated biorefineries that combine the production of bio-based products and energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, most of those have been primarily set up to supply biofuels for transport, and not enough for producing bio-based materials for the manufacturing sector, according to a Commission progress report<\/a> on the EU bioeconomy strategy, published in June 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And issues remain due to \u201cthe large gap between the current costs of bio-based products and the willingness of consumers to pay,\u201d the report notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

300 new or expanded biorefineries by 2030<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The EU bioeconomy strategy<\/a>, last updated in 2018, aims to address this, with the objective to \u201cfacilitate the development of new sustainable biorefineries in Europe at scale,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strategy\u2019s goal is to build 300 new sustainable biorefineries by 2030, Bell indicated, saying supply could grow by an additional 1.1 to 3.1 million tonnes by 2030 depending on the growth scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An EU biorefinery outlook to 2030<\/a>, published in 2021, puts the emphasis on \u201cchemical and material-driven biorefineries\u201d that produce \u201chigh value bio-based products\u201d including chemicals such as additives, solvents, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals; materials like textile fibres, polymers, and resins; or food and animal feed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This shift towards organic materials represents \u201cthe next economy,\u201d Bell told EURACTIV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bell is the chair of the \u20ac2 billion Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking, a partnership between the EU and the private sector that supports companies operating in the bioeconomy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among other projects, the joint undertaking is working to establish some 14 biorefineries across the bloc, which will demonstrate the viability of their industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New industries<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The 14 biorefineries backed by the joint undertaking operate across a range of sectors, from food, to chemical production, to paper manufacturing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, the PEFerence project is establishing a biorefinery in Delfzijl, the Netherlands, with the aim of replacing fossil-based plastics with bio-based polyesters at an industrial scale. The project received \u20ac25 million from the joint undertaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danish brewer Carlsberg teamed up with Avantium Chemicals BV, the coordinator of PEFerence, to produce a fibre-based beer bottle which has roughly one fifth the carbon footprint of a regular glass bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bottle is made from a mixture of plant-based PEF polymer lining and paper, making all elements organic (bar the cap). While chilling the beer to the ideal drinking temperature takes longer in the bio-based bottle, it keeps the beer cool for longer than cans or glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Sas van Gent, a town in the Netherlands, a company called \u201cEnough\u201d is producing a plant-based protein for food and feed, which promoters say can act as a substitute for meat. Some \u20ac17 million in joint partnership funding went towards the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using mushrooms, the company created a chicken-like \u201cmeat\u201d whose manufacturing process emits far less CO2<\/sub> than protein from poultry. The process also fails to produce waste, unlike chicken themselves, making it a cleaner overall production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim of the plant is to produce one and a half tonnes of protein every hour \u2013 the equivalent of a cow every 2 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focus on \u2018woody biomass-based biorefineries\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Looking forward, the European Commission wants to stimulate investments in \u201cwoody biomass-based biorefineries\u201d, saying legislative developments there \u201cmay boost biorefineries for upcycling of woody biomass residues\u201d which could create \u201cvibrant regional bioeconomy hubs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But one of the chief challenges is accessing sufficient organic material, as without a steady feedstock stream the bioeconomy will seize up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Commission acknowledges this, pointing to the existence of ecological limits and \u201ctrade-offs\u201d between competing uses of land, sea and biomass. \u201cOne of the most obvious areas where these limits are or will be manifesting is the issue of land availability to produce sufficient quantities of biomass for various uses,\u201d Bell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rob Beekers, vice-chair of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking, said the solution lies in deploying a mixture of renewable feedstocks to displace fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a role for forestry, algae, residual streams, primary agricultural crops, and consumer waste. It all goes together, combined with behavioural changes,\u201d he said, mentioning the need to move towards greater reuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the growing world population, there is increased pressure to use biomass, he conceded, citing transport and agriculture needs. \u201cBut there are changes happening that will relieve some of the biomass that is used for these purposes today, that can then be used for other purposes,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beekers gave the examples of lower levels of meat consumption, which means that less organic material is needed for animal feed, while greater electrification in transport could see a reduction in the quantity of crop biomass needed to produce ethanol or biodiesel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This biomass could then be redeployed to manufacture high value products, such as green chemicals, feed and textiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked by EURACTIV about concerns surrounding the use of growing crops for manufacturing materials, Beekers said that consumers in Europe prefer materials made from renewable sources to the fossil alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we should not polarise the discussion too much around \u2018you cannot make a renewable from seeds or from grain or from a tree, you can only make it from a residual stream\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to make use of CO2 as a source, we need to make use of residuals, and we need to make use of primary crops, all to make the materials that we need.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Much of Europe\u2019s manufacturing sector is reliant on fossil fuel-derived compounds, such as plastics and chemicals. To decrease the EU\u2019s reliance on imported oil and gas, the European Commission is funding so-called \u201cbiorefineries\u201d, which turn organic matter into materials that can replace fossil-produced items. \u201cBiorefineries today are turning food waste into useful and safe ingredients […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"The European Union is investing billions of euros in biorefineries that can develop products based on organic materials and help decrease the bloc\u2019s reliance on oil and gas","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[5838,5842,6026,5831,12518,13465],"supplier":[742,9082,19472,21249,2317],"class_list":["post-117793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-bioeconomy","tag-biomass","tag-biopolymers","tag-biorefinery","tag-feedstocks","tag-pef","supplier-avantium-technologies-bv","supplier-carlsberg-group","supplier-circular-bio-based-europe-joint-undertaking-cbe-ju","supplier-enough-delicious-nutritious-sustainable","supplier-european-commission"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117793\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117793"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=117793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}