Abstract
The bioeconomy can play a critical role in helping countries to find alternative sustainable sources of products and energy. Countries with diverse terrestrial and marine ecosystems will see diverging feedstock opportunities to develop these new value chains. Understanding the sources, composition, and regional availability of these biomass feedstocks is an essential first step in developing new sustainable bio-based value chains. In this paper, an assessment and analysis of regional biomass availability was conducted in the diverse regions of Andalusia and Ireland using a bioresource mapping model. The model provides regional stakeholders with a first glance at the regional opportunities with regards to feedstock availability and an estimate of the transportation costs associated with moving the feedstock to a different modelled location/region for the envisioned biorefinery plant. The analysis found that there were more than 30 million tonnes of (wet weight) biomass arisings from Ireland (84,000 km2) with only around 4.8 million tonnes from the Andalusian region (87,000 km2). The study found that Cork in Ireland stood out as the main contributor of biomass feedstock in the Irish region, with animal manures making the largest contribution. Meanwhile, the areas of Almería, Jaén, and Córdoba were the main contributors of biomass in the Andalusia region, with olive residues identified as the most abundant biomass resource. This analysis also found that, while considerable feedstock divergence existed within the regions, the mapping model could act as an effective tool for collecting and interpreting the regional data on a transnational basis.
Highlights
Availability of biomass is essential to the successful implementation of the bioeconomy across Europe
The analysis found that there were more than 30 million tonnes of biomass arisings from Ireland (84,000 km2) with only around 4.8 million tonnes from the Andalusian region (87,000 km2)
The European Union (EU) has set a target of 32% renewable energy by 2030 under Renewable Energy Directive II, while the Bio-based Industries Consortium has set out ambitious targets for bio-based products, including 30% of all materials and chemicals produced from bio-based sources by 2030 [1]
Summary
Availability of biomass is essential to the successful implementation of the bioeconomy across Europe. Being able to map available biomass supply and match it with demand will be an essential aspect of meeting these targets. An additional 48 MMT of biomass will be required to produce conventional biofuels, with up to 80 MMT required to produce bio-based power and heat [2]. A recent report by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) into biomass production, supply, uses, and flows in the European Union showed that, overall, Europe is a net importer of biomass in order to meet its biomass use requirements [3]. Importing biomass is being considered in some cases in order to meet our bioeconomy and bioenergy targets. There is a risk that innovative European bio-based companies may relocate to Southeast Asia or South America, where biomass is a lower cost and more abundantly available. The EU is investing heavily in the research and development of fermentation-based building blocks, the majority of new facilities are being built outside Europe, mainly in Asia and Brazil, in part due to availability of low-cost sugars [6]
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