Five years on, the European Parliamentary Research Service last month released a briefing presenting challenges and opportunities facing the sector.

The report emphasises the key role of the bioeconomy sector in optimising the use of biomass and biomass waste and residues, in particular through the ‘cascading-use’ principle, “whereby biomass is used more than once, if technically and economically possible, typically with material use(s) as the first step(s) and energy conversion as the last step”.

The Bio4Products project is a great example of this ‘cascading-use’ principle. Rather than converting biomass for energy, Bio4Products will upgrade the biomaterial into renewable chemicals, which can be used to make products such as roofing material, phenolic resins, sand moulding resins, and engineered wood and natural fibre reinforced products.

To tap the full potential of biomass, the report also argues that “bioeconomy policies should be better designed to ensure a cascading use of biomass”. As biotechnology is playing an increasingly important role on the global market, policy support from the European Union will represent a key factor of success of the bioeconomy in Europe.

If you would like to learn more about European bioeconomy policies, click on the following link to read the full report.

The entire special issue is free to access for all of 2017 and has contributions from many of the leaders in the field in academia. So if you want to really get to grips with the pyrolysis process, make sure to have a look. Lots more information on fast pyrolysis is also available at the PyroKnown portal.

Fast pyrolysis is the conversion technique employed in Bio4Products. It transforms solid biomass into a liquid in just a few seconds. First, biomass is rapidly heated to around 500°C in the absence of air. An oily smoke is created, which is then condensed into a liquid bio-oil.

After years of development the process is now applied on an industrial scale, converting large quantities of lignocellulosic (non-food) biomass into a dark-brown bio-oil. In Bio4Products, partners will further process this oil to create higher value materials and chemicals.

While wood-based products act as a carbon store, wood burned for bioenergy contributes significantly to CO₂ emissions if not sustainably managed. As a result, Germany says the two activities should be counted differently when considering emissions from land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF).

The current Commission proposal includes a ‘no debit rule’ where member states will be required to compensate for CO2 emissions resulting from deforestation. Germany would like to see the system discourage burning for energy by increasing the debits accrued on wood felled for this activity. It is hoped this would instead encourage the market for long-lived wood products and bio-based products, such as those being developed in Bio4Products.

It was agreed in 2014 that the LULUCF sectors should contribute to the overall emissions reduction target as part the EU’s 2030 climate framework. The current proposal will look to regulate the sector for the period 2021-2030.

Read more about the LULUCF proposal here.

Bio-resources such as straw, bark, forest residues and even sunflower husks could hold the key to a more environmentally-friendly European process industry, having the potential to replace fossil-based resources in many product groups, especially in the construction industry.

Bio4Products will demonstrate how these four bio-resources can be exploited, creating renewable and natural alternatives to fossil-based processing streams such as bitumen, phenols and creosote.

The objective is to deliver four end products for which at least 30% of the original fossil material is substituted with sustainable resources, and which can demonstrate a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

A state-of-the-art technique called fast pyrolysis will be employed which transforms biomass into a flexible bio-oil in a matter of seconds. This oil will then be separated into fractions which can be used for the production of roofing material, resins (phenolic and sand moulding), and engineered wood and natural fibre reinforced products. As well as an environmental impact assessment, the project will conduct economic and market analyses to develop a strong business case for its products.

Bio4Products will see a unique blend of organisations and expertise working together, led by BTG Biomass Technology Group from the Netherlands. Industrial partners from Belgium and Germany will demonstrate the viability of the new value chains, with support from expert partners in the United Kingdom and Belgium. The project, which began in September and will run for four years, is funded by the Sustainable Process Industry through Resource and Energy Efficiency (SPIRE) programme, a contractual public-private partnership under the EU framework programme Horizon 2020.