Bioeconomy Framework Research Articles

Development of quaternary nanocomposites made up of cassava starch, cocoa butter, lemongrass essential oil nanoemulsion, and brewery spent grain fibers.

We report on production of novel quaternary nanocomposite films based on thermoplastic starch (TPS, 8% w/v) derived from cassava, cocoa butter, (CB, 30%wt.%), and lemongrass essential oil (LEO, 1:1) nanoemulsions reinforced with different concentrations of brewery spent grain (BSG, 5 or 10wt.%) fibers, by continuous casting. The chemical composition, the morphological, thermal, mechanical properties, film barrier, biodegradability in the vegetable compound, in addition to the application in chocolates, have been widely studied. The addition of CB, LEO, and BSG caused relevant changes in the starch-based films, such as increased extensibility (from 2.4-BSG5 to 9.4%-BSG10) and improved barrier to moisture (2.9 and 2.4g.mm.kPa-1 .h-1 .m-2 ). Contrastingly, the thermal stability of the starch film was slightly decreased. The biodegradability of the herein developed quaternary nanocomposite films was the same as that of TPS films, eliminating concerns on the supplementation with active ingredients that are expected to have some biocidal effect. Despite checking antimicrobial activity only by contact under the biocomposites, chocolates packed with the films were well accepted by consumers, especially the samples of white chocolate stored in the BSG5 biocomposite. Overall, this new approach towards quaternary active, biodegradable films produced in a pilot-scale lamination unit was successful in either improving or at least maintaining the essential properties of TPS-based films for food packaging applications, while providing them with unique features and functionalities. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This contribution relates to new approach toward quaternary films produced in a pilot-scale lamination unit. It relates to sustainability as it is both biodegradable and based on plant biomass, as well as produced via a clean, through high-yield process. The four components of the edible films we developed provide it with good in properties performance, as both a passive barrier (i.e. purely physical), and active, related to the sensory attributes of food, essential to be applied in food packaging. The valorization of a BSG also adds to the relevance of our contribution within the circular bioeconomy framework.

Selective recovery and purification of carotenoids and fatty acids from Rhodotorula glutinis using mixtures of biosolvents

Selective recovery and purification of carotenoids and lipids from oleaginous red yeast Rhodotorula glutinis require a complex integration of different downstream operations. Envisioning a future industrial application in the bioeconomy framework, an experimental planning was used to design ternary mixtures of bio-based solvents (biosolvents) for simultaneous recovery and selective separation of carotenoids (i.e., β-carotene and torularhodin) and fatty acids (i.e., margaric acid, stearic acid and pentadecylic acid) from untreated (fresh wet) and freeze/thaw pre-treated (wet and dry) biomass of Rhodotorula glutinis CCT-2186. Two ternary systems of biosolvents, (i) ethanol:ethyl lactate:water and ii) ethanol:ethyl acetate:water, were investigated in solid–liquid extraction procedures to permeabilize/disintegrate the yeast cells and to enhance the selective recovery of β-carotene, torularhodin and fatty acids from the intracellular environment. Optimization of the ternary mixture composition for recovery of carotenoids and fatty acids from the three types of biomass allowed to obtain yields higher than 75% (w/w) from pre-treated dry biomass using mixture of ethanol:ethyl acetate:water (67:33:00% w/w/w). The best systems were then integrated with a liquid–liquid extraction for the selective separation of carotenoids and fatty acids and solvent recycling. The mixtures of biosolvents were reused up to three consecutive extraction cycles, maintaining high extraction efficiency yields of both carotenoids (>45% w/w) and lipids (>30% w/w). At the end, the biological activity of the carotenoids extracts was confirmed by determining the antioxidant activity using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and the stable free radical 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH·). The highest antioxidant activity (93%) was obtained with torularhodin (250 μg/mL). This study confirms that extraction platforms using mixed biosolvents are simple, efficient and sustainable solutions for the selective recovery and separation of carotenoids and fatty acids from microbial biomass.

Understanding Farm-Level Incentives within the Bioeconomy Framework: Prices, Product Quality, Losses, and Bio-Based Alternatives

The bioeconomy framework emphasizes potential contributions of life sciences to novel, bio-based products and to discover economic uses for what would otherwise be considered waste or loss in traditional production systems. To best exploit this perspective, especially for biowaste innovations, economists should develop behavioral models that integrate decision-making with biophysical concepts. The supply to bioeconomy uses of farm production otherwise lost depends on the relative net benefits of adjusting production across a range of quality levels. Without understanding such incentives, one cannot fully anticipate the effects on prices and consumer welfare due to new alternatives. The analysis here examines farm-level incentives that determine quality, sales and loss levels, and possible switching of supplies to alternative uses. We present a farmer decision model of the distribution of product qualities, total losses, and the adoption of alternative profitable activities, such as for antioxidants or other novel bioproducts. We demonstrate how the introduction of bio-based alternatives changes opportunity costs of resource use, altering product quality proportions and sales to traditional markets. Adopting biowaste alternatives depends on scale, productivity, and fixed costs; adopting these reduces the proportion of production going to traditional buyers/consumers and shifts downward the distribution of traditional product (e.g., food-grade) qualities.

Development of the Circular Bioeconomy: Drivers and Indicators

The EU’s 2018 Bioeconomy Strategy Update and the European Green Deal recently confirmed that the bioeconomy is high on the political agenda in Europe. Here, we propose a conceptual analysis framework for quantifying and analyzing the development of the EU bioeconomy. The bioeconomy has several related concepts (e.g., bio-based economy, green economy, and circular economy) and there are clear synergies between these concepts, especially between the bioeconomy and circular economy concepts. Analyzing the driving factors provides important information for monitoring activities. We first derive the scope of the bioeconomy framework in terms of bioeconomy sectors and products to be involved, the needed geographical coverage and resolution, and time period. Furthermore, we outline a set of indicators linked to the objectives of the EU’s bioeconomy strategy. In our framework, measuring developments will, in particular, focus on the bio-based sectors within the bioeconomy as biomass and food production is already monitored. The selected indicators commit to the EU Bioeconomy Strategy objectives and conform with findings from previous studies and stakeholder consultation. Additionally, several new indicators have been suggested and they are related to measuring the impact of changes in supply, demand drivers, resource availability, and policies on sustainability goals.

Policy review for biomass value chains in the European bioeconomy

The main aim of this paper is to review existing European policies relevant to the biomass value chains and examine how their main objectives support or align with the five core objectives (pillars) identified under the 2018 Bioeconomy Strategy. The paper also discusses key challenges that restrict the compliance of the policies to the Strategy, identifies policy gaps and provides recommendations for future policy formation.A structured review was conducted of over ninety policies relevant to the biomass, bioprocessing and biobased products. The value chain approach was used as a tool to harmonise these sectors under a common bioeconomy framework and provides an understanding of how key activities and challenges are being addressed. Several gaps were identified in relation to these challenges in each stage, at land use stage a lack of European-wide harmonised characterisation of marginal land and integration among sectoral policies targeting soil quality and financial measures incentivising the uptake of sustainable soil improvers. At the biomass production stage, inadequate policy support was found for waste mobilisation and valorisation. Furthermore, there is a lack of policy provisions and financial support improving collaborations among value chain actors to overcome the complexity associated with harmonising biomass logistics and conversion processes. Finally, regarding the end use stage, policy interventions targeting the distribution and standardisation of the wide, available range of biobased products and services remain limited. Based on this gap analysis, a set of recommendations was produced outlining ways in which policy measures can be updated through introducing either financial, regulatory or information provisions, or formulating novel policies altogether. These recommendations were made following the value chain analysis approach, which addresses specific challenges in relation to the five core objectives of the Bioeconomy Strategy, with the aim of further increasing the level of coherence among sectoral policies.

Identification of environmental aspects of citrus waste valorization into D-limonene from a biorefinery approach

Citrus waste (CW) consists mainly of peels and pressed pulp (seeds and segment membranes), which represent approximately 50% of the fruit weight. In the framework of bioeconomy, this type of waste could serve as a valuable raw material for the manufacture of biofuels and other commodities. Specifically, CW comprises high levels of pectin, cellulose, hemicellulose and soluble sugars, and to lesser extent essential oils. d-limonene is a terpenic compound and main component of essential oils in CW. In the present study, alternative and low environmental impact technologies for the valorization of CW are evaluated in the framework of a biorefinery strategy. Although d-limonene is the target product, a “closing the loop” strategy has been incorporated obtaining biogas and digestate as co-products from the residual side-streams. Plant-wide simulations are performed according to four different scenarios (Scenario I to Scenario IV) comprising four sections: pre-treatment, extraction, purification and anaerobic digestion. The main differences between the scenarios correspond to the extraction (hydrodistillation, cold pressing and solvent extraction) and purification stages. Scenarios III and IV use ethanol and hexane, respectively, as extractive agents. The results show that Scenario I has the worst environmental profile, while Scenario II has the best profile of all the scenarios analysed. In addition, purification stage is the main responsible for the highest environmental burdens in scenarios I, II and IV due to the energy required. In Scenario II, pre-treatment and extraction steps are identified as hotspots, due to the high electricity requirements. There is therefore still room for improvement, and future research should focus on optimising the purification stages to reduce the impacts of those scenarios with poorer environmental profiles.

Torrefaction of Coffee Husk Flour for the Development of Injection-Molded Green Composite Pieces of Polylactide with High Sustainability

Coffee husk, a major lignocellulosic waste derived from the coffee industry, was first ground into flour of fine particles of approximately 90 µm and then torrefied at 250 °C to make it more thermally stable and compatible with biopolymers. The resultant torrefied coffee husk flour (TCHF) was thereafter melt-compounded with polylactide (PLA) in contents from 20 to 50 wt% and the extruded green composite pellets were shaped by injection molding into pieces and characterized. Although the incorporation of TCHF reduced the ductility and toughness of PLA, filler contents of 20 wt% successfully yielded pieces with balanced mechanical properties in both tensile and flexural conditions and improved hardness. Contents of up to 30 wt% of TCHF also induced a nucleating effect that favored the formation of crystals of PLA, whereas the thermal degradation of the biopolyester was delayed by more than 7 °C. Furthermore, the PLA/TCHF pieces showed higher thermomechanical resistance and their softening point increased up to nearly 60 °C. Therefore, highly sustainable pieces were developed through the valorization of large amounts of coffee waste subjected to torrefaction. In the Circular Bioeconomy framework, these novel green composites can be used in the design of compostable rigid packaging and food contact disposables.

Environmental and Economic Assessment of Castor Oil Supply Chain: A Case Study

Among the species currently cultivated for industrial vegetable oil production, castor could be a good candidate for future investments due to the good resistance to pests, tolerance to drought, and suitability for marginal lands cultivation. In addition, the production of castor oil from Ricinus generates a large quantity of press cake, husks, and crop residues that, in a framework of bioeconomy, could be used as by-products for different purposes. Using a case study approach, the work presents results of the environmental impact assessment and economic feasibility of the production of castor oil from two different castor hybrids comparing four by-products management scenarios and two harvesting systems (manual vs. mechanical). Castor hybrid C-856 harvested manually and that involved only the soil incorporation of press cake obtained by the oil extraction resulted as the most sustainable. The hybrid C-1030 resulted as more profitable than C-856 when harvested with the combine harvester. The ratio between gross margin and GWP emissions was applied to calculate the economic performance (gross margin) per unit of environmental burden. Findings showed that Sc1B scenario in case of C-856 cultivar hybrid had a better ratio between economic performance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted into the atmosphere (€3.75 per kg CO2eq).

Enabling a transformation to a bioeconomy in New Zealand

The 2009 OECD call for a global transition towards a bioeconomy has resulted in a number of nations adopting national or regional strategies to develop their bioeconomies. New Zealand’s large biological resource base and a well-established cultural heritage in farm production, including a comparative advantage in livestock production, should make it well-positioned for bioeconomy-based wealth creation. However, ecological and societal limits require the current economic farming model to be re-evaluated. We develop a bioeconomy framework, and use it to analyse where New Zealand is currently positioned and what would be required for New Zealand to transform into a fully functioning bioeconomy. We identify several critical elements of a bioeconomy that are either not fully developed in New Zealand, or are clearly lacking, most notably finance and governance, and the need for public engagement in policy. In order for New Zealand to realise the potential opportunity the bioeconomy offers, we suggest a more integrated and cohesive primary sector model that goes beyond tweaking the existing (livestock and primary production based) regime towards supporting and developing new niche production sectors, based on a clear vision jointly conceived with wider society.