LIFE EBP (Ecofriendly multipurpose Biobased Products from municipal biowaste) addresses environmental problems in municipal biowaste (MBW) management, agriculture and chemical industry by proving feasible production and use of new biobased products (BPs) obtained from MBW.
Contacts: Piergiuseppe Morone piergiuseppe.morone@unitelmasapienza.it
Due to the rapid growth of population, municipal solid waste (MSW) has contributed significantly to the total amount of waste generated by our society. Today in Europe, each habitant generates, in average, 0.5 tonnes of MSW per year, increasing at an annual rate of 10%. Around 40-50% of it correspond to organic waste. This organic fraction mainly contains carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, which are all useful raw material that can be converted to valuable products. Its valorisation will help to solve environmental pollution but also contributes to the transition from a linear to a renewable circular economy. Digestion and composting have contributed to the reduction of the biodegradable fraction of MSW sent to landfill. The low economical value of compost and biogas is limiting the sustainable implementation of separate sourcing systems since increasing citizen environmental (waste) taxes is then needed to tackle important logistic costs. New biobased products can help to improve waste treatment environmental and socioeconomical sustainability.
The aim of URBIOFIN project is to demonstrate the techno-economic and environmental viability of the conversion at semi-industrial scale (10 T/d) of the organic fraction of MSW (OFMSW) into: Chemical building blocks (bioethanol, volatile fatty acids, biogas), biopolymers (polyhydroyalkanoate and biocomposites) or additives (microalgae hydrolisated for biofertilisers). By using the biorefinery concept applied to MSW (urban biorefinery), URBIOFIN will exploit the OFMSW as feedstock to produce different valuable marketable products for different markets: agriculture, cosmetics. URBIOFIN will offer a new feasible and more sustainable scenario alternative to the current treatment of the OFMSW.
Contacts: Project Coordinator Ms Caterina Coll, caterina@perseobiotech.com
Europe needs more bio-based products to ensure future generations inherit a sustainable society, but the success of such products can only be built on trust. The EU-funded STAR-ProBio project are conscious of the challenges ahead. They built a new framework to help create better labels, standards and certifications that will allow for that trust to be built, ultimately benefiting all EU citizens.
There is no alternative. If the world has to become anything else than a gigantic dustbin, it will have to transition to bio-based products. This means phasing out fossil-based products in favour of plant and waste-derived materials, building biorefineries using renewable resources to replace their polluting counterparts, and transitioning to an economy focused on circularity.
The number of challenges ahead would make anyone’s head spin, but projects like the EU-funded STAR-ProBio project have been tackling them head-on. “Our project focused on sustainability assessment schemes (labels, standards and certifications) as well as uncertainties related to market uptake,” says Piergiuseppe Morone, professor of Economic Policy at the University of Rome Unitelma Sapienza and coordinator of the project.
For the former, the project team identified a set of environmental, social and economic indicators covering land use change and transition from linear to circular production models. For the latter, they investigated drivers that could push both consumers and producers to warmly welcome bio-based products, including those aspects specifically related to sustainability schemes. As Morone explains: “We conducted a three-round survey with a large panel of consumers and professionals. It helped us find out how they think and how this thinking influences buying decisions. Additionally, we conducted an experiment involving 360 consumers in a branch of a multinational company selling furniture, furnishings and household articles in Italy.”
The results of this experiment are quite enlightening. They show the existence of a ‘green premium’ – that is, increased consumer willingness to pay for bio-based over conventional products – as well as a ‘certified green premium’, which means they’re willing to pay even more for certified bio-based products than they do for non-certified ones. “The experiment also shows that demand for conventional products – for instance hand soap, food bags or coloured pens – is generally more elastic than demand for bio-based and certified bio-based products. This means that the introduction of an instrument mix combining an eco-label based on a certification of sustainability, a tax on conventional products and a subsidy on certified sustainable goods may support the market uptake of certified sustainable bio-based goods,” Morone notes.
STAR-ProBio’s findings were continuously submitted for evaluation by the likes of policymakers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), value chain actors and consumer associations as the project moved further in its work. This work took place over 3 years and resulted in the SAT-ProBio framework – a blueprint of sustainability certification schemes for bio-based products. As Morone explains: “The framework includes two key tools. The Sustainability Certification Tool (SCT) describes the SAT-ProBio methodology and its underpinnings so that the framework can be integrated into the current certification landscape. Meanwhile, the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) guides companies in assessing specific bio-based products. By using it, they can identify areas of improvement related to 33 aspects of sustainability, based on 48 different indicators.”
The project ended in April 2020, but work has continued ever since to accelerate the creation of standards for bio-based products. The consortium’s last contribution is a process of pre-standardisation built around the IAT in December 2020 in collaboration with the Italian National Standards Body. This process is expected to be finalised and published by the end of 2021.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/projects/success-stories/all/better-standards-and-certifications-more-successful-bio-based-products?fbclid=IwAR0UrYth7l-yJoLI0ti5W9EUu5xYta5kT1d9heaHTDbq_U0AZa-KvloUFCA
08 June 2021 – The World BioEconomy Forum is delighted to announce the launching of World Bioproduct Day on the 7 July this year. World Bioproduct Day is part of the Forum’s campaign to enhance and increase awareness of the importance of bio-based products for the protection of the planet.
Members of the World BioEconomy Forum have been taking time to reflect about the role and importance of bio-based products in superseding non-renewable options. Through the adoption of more bio-based materials we can move towards solutions that are more sustainable and healthier for us and the planet, and step away from non-renewable feedstocks.
Every single one of us has come across a bioproduct. Whether it be reading about one, owning one, or contributing to the formation of one. It may be as simple as a wooden chair or more complex such as a bio-based chemical you have encountered. The possibilities of bioproducts are endless. Bioproducts are now emerging faster than ever, and they are all around us.
Jukka Kantola, Founder of the Forum says, “We are launching a new movement, “World Bioproduct Day” on 7 July in an effort to raise awareness of the importance of bioproducts around us and how they contribute to the larger goal of environmental sustainability and climate action.
“We invite you all to share your experiences and stories of bioproducts you use or own by posting a photo or video of a product made from renewable resources, whether it be at home or the company you work for. We ask you to share your post via LinkedIn or Twitter with the accompanying hashtag, “#Bioproductday”. We will showcase and share your posts on our social media channels so we hope all of you will participate and join us shining a spotlight on the benefits of bioproducts to the future of the Earth, to the future of our home.”
The next World BioEconomy Forum will be held in partnership with the state of Pará, and major bioeconomy associations in Brazil, ABAG and Ibá. The Forum 2021 will be held in the recently developed and renovated riverside venue Estação das Docas in Belém. The city has been recognized as a Creative City of Gastronomy by Unesco. The Forum is expecting 60+ top speakers on circular bioeconomy from all over the world.
More information: Jukka Kantola
+358 40 552 888
The World BioEconomy Forum launches world’s first news app for the global circular bioeconomy
22 June 2021 – The World BioEconomy Forum has launched the world’s first breaking news app for global stakeholders operating in the circular bioeconomy. The app, which is available for both Android and IOS devices, will alert users to the very latest breaking news and developments taking place in the rapidly growing sector.
The circular bioeconomy is increasingly being seen as pivotal concept for the mitigation of climate change, as well as a way to conserve the planet’s vital raw materials. The concept encourages the use of products and services that utilize renewable resources as their base for production and operation, as well as encouraging recycling and reuse wherever possible.
“We are really excited about our new app,” says Jukka Kantola, Founder of the World BioEconomy Forum. “It will allow us to further develop our platform for information sharing in the circular bioeconomy sector. Already our events – including regular Roundtables, our annual Forum, monthly newsletters and bulletins – are proving very popular with stakeholders operating in the circular bioeconomy sector. The breaking news app adds a further dimension to the important information we are sharing and providing.”
The app will cover all the latest news emerging from the global circular bioeconomy, and importantly will fit into the World BioEconomy Forum’s four thematic pillars of; People, Planet, Policies; Global Leaders and the Financial World; Bioproducts Around Us and Looking to the Future.
The app is available for download from the Apple App Store for IOS and for android devices by searching for World BioEconomy News. Companies, entities and individuals operating in the circular bioeconomy can send their latest news for publishing to news@wcbef.com
The launch of the app comes hot on the heels of another World BioEconomy Forum launch just last week of World Bioproduct Day, a campaign to enhance and increase awareness of the importance of the use bio-based products for the protection of the planet.
The next World BioEconomy Forum will be held in partnership with the state of Pará, and major bioeconomy associations in Brazil, ABAG and Ibá. The Forum 2021 will be held in the recently developed and renovated riverside venue Estação das Docas in Belém. The city has been recognized as a Creative City of Gastronomy by Unesco.
More information: Jukka Kantola
+358 40 552 88
Let’s talk about land -LANDSUPPORT goes live with the 4th episode of the live round table: Supporting the implementation of the pesticides and nitrates directives in Europe.
Speakers:
Moderator:
Follow the live here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_Y8PveznBChXSTpeYGrhYHgqAre6YKJH
Converting bio-waste into valuable products will contribute to a circular economy. The EU-funded WaysTUP! project aims to establish new value chains for urban bio-waste utilisation to produce higher value products, including food and feed ingredients through a multi-stakeholder approach. The project is set to showcase a rash of new products produced from urban bio-waste-to-bio-based processes starting from different feedstocks, including fish and meat waste, spent coffee grounds, household source separated bio-waste and used cooking oils. In its implementation, WaysTUP! will develop a behavioural change approach with citizens and local communities, improving and changing longstanding perceptions on urban bio-waste. It will also help promote active participation of citizens in the collection of urban bio-waste.
Contacts: Manolis Tsantakis: mdt@etam.gr
Maroulla Schiza mcs@etam.gr
On average, each European citizen produces approximately 200 kg of municipal biowaste per year, representing between 118 and 138 million tonnes of biowaste annually arising in the EU. The main municipal biowaste management systems currently existing in Europe represent one-way flow systems in which materials and resources are underused, limiting its potential recovery into high-value products. VALUEWASTE proposes an integrated approach in urban biowaste upcycling for the production of high-value biobased products, developing the first complete solution to fully valorise biowaste that can be replicated across Europe. We will implement three new value chains that will use urban biowaste as raw material for its valorisation into high-value end products in a cascading process, generating economic, social and environmental benefits: food & feed proteins and other ingredients, and biobased fertiliser. VALUEWASTE will be developed at two very different European locations, Murcia (ES) and Kalundborg (DK) with the purpose of finding a solution both technical and socially adapted to the different socio-economic contexts exiting across Europe. Social initiatives will be created to increase consumer awareness and acceptance of urban biowaste-derived products. End-user products applications and new market opportunities will be demonstrated. Outcomes of the project will contribute to new standardisation, and will be useful information for EU policy makers in terms of waste management and in the adoption of new policies.
Contacts: Africa Matilda Pardavila Morris: africa.pardavila@innovarum.es
The Valor-Plus supports the realisation of sustainable, economically viable closed loop integrated biorefineries through the development of new knowledge, (bio-)technologies and products that enable valorisation of key biorefinery by-products. The project comprises five key areas:
• Pre-treatment and fractionation: development of a novel methodology for the controlled and selective breakdown, release and fractionation of the lignocellulose biomass to minimally degraded cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin fractions that are suitable for further downstream refinement and processing to value product streams
• Hemicellulose Valorisation: engineering of new enzymes and microorganisms for the controlled hydrolysis and transformation of hemicellulose to high value oligomers and bulk fermentation product streams (butanol, ethanol and single cell proteins for animal feed)
• Lignin Valorisation: utilisation of combined chemo-enzymatic and chemo-microbial processes for the controlled depolymerisation and transformation of standardised lignin feedstocks to discrete families of platform and intermediate macromolecular and monomer chemicals; and their subsequent transformation to value product streams (fuels, platform chemicals, monomers for synthesis of resins and functional additives)
• Glycerol Valorisation: engineering of new microorganisms that are the suitable for the fermentation of crude glycerol to higher value product streams (lipids, alcohols and organic acids)
• Demonstration of the technological and economic potential for integration and scale-up within existing and future biorefinery value chains: including: demonstration of component technologies, focused biodiesel refinery case study, roadmaps for technology and product stream integration, and a full life cycle assessment
The project assembles an industrially focused pan-European consortium spanning the complete biorefinery value chain, including 9 SMEs, 1 large enterprise, 2 research centres and 3 universities
Contacts: Beatriz Palomo (ASEBIO) Dissemination and Exploitation WP Leader Valor Plus: bpalomo@asebio.com
Thomas Kowalik (IFAM) Ifam Fraunhofer Institute Valor Plus Coordinator
SMARTCHAIN is an ambitious, 3 year project with 43 partners from 11 European countries including key stakeholders from the domain of short food supply chain as actors in the project. The central objective is to foster and accelerate the shift towards collaborative short food supply chains and, through concrete actions and recommendations, to introduce new robust business models and innovative practical solutions that enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of the European agri-food system.
Using bottom-up, demand-driven research, the SMARTCHAIN consortium i) will perform a multi-perspective analysis of 18 case studies of short food supply chains in terms of technological, regulatory, social, economic and environmental factors, ii) will assess the linkages and interactions among all stakeholders involved in short food supply chains and iii) will identify the key parameters that influence sustainable food production and rural development among different regions in Europe.
The project aims to establish 9 national communities of short food supply chains (Innovation and Collaboration Hubs) in different partner countries (France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain and Switzerland) and a virtual innovation hub in order to facilitate stakeholder engagement, bringing farmers and consumers together in a trust-enhancing environment enabling them to generate demand driven-innovations.
Combination of scientific and practical knowledge and the use of innovation workshops will enable the development of practical innovative solutions as well as the promotion of a framework for different forms of collaborative short food supply chains in urban and rural areas. SMARTCHAIN will generate concrete actions for knowledge transfer, through the organisation of multi-stakeholder workshops and training activities for farmers and short food supply chain entrepreneurs.
Contacts: Susanne Braun: susanne.braun@uni-hohenheim.de