Bioeconomy

Fossil resources such as crude oil and natural gas are currently still indispensable as starting materials for the production of basic chemicals. However, in view of global population growth and rising living standards, the current oil-based economy is reaching its limits, especially with regard to climate-relevant environmental aspects. For example, the use of fossil raw materials has contributed significantly to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide or the littering of the oceans. And the availability of fossil resources is limited.   

Biomass represents an alternative and renewable raw material basis for the production of chemical products. Its use and conversion is the basis of a biobased economy, in short bioeconomy. The aim is to bring economy and ecology into harmony to the greatest possible extent – in other words, to make processes both environmentally compatible and economical so that new processes can be applied on a large scale as quickly as possible. If renewable raw materials, biogenic residues – or directly carbon dioxide (CO₂) – are used instead of fossil carbon sources for the production of chemicals, this helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the climate, thus enabling the implementation of sustainability goals in the sense of a sustainable bioeconomy in the future.

Both climate change – one of our greatest global challenges – and the COVID-19 pandemic, which dominated the headlines for years, show just how vulnerable humans are in a globalized world and how closely the health of humans, animals, and the environment are intertwined. The World Health Organization (WHO) has aptly articulated this in its One Health approach: Destroyed habitats threaten not only biodiversity but also humans. Current global (geo-)ecological challenges, climate change, and the loss of biodiversity contribute to the destabilization of entire ecosystems and thus also to a massive burden on human health. This makes it all the more important to protect nature – and, along with it, humankind.

What is the bioeconomy? – A sustainable economic system

Many everyday products are petroleum-based, and for the chemical industry and its customers, petroleum represents the most important source of raw materials and energy. In light of global population growth and rising living standards, the current economic model, which is based on fossil fuels, is reaching its limits, particularly with regard to climate change. It is undisputed that current economic and consumption patterns are responsible for a large portion of greenhouse gas emissions, and the need for action is evident worldwide, including in Europe. This raises the urgent question: What solutions exist to protect people and the environment in the long term?

The answer lies in both research and our knowledge-based society. Together, they point to a fundamental solution: the bioeconomy – a sustainable economic system that not only uses renewable raw materials to manufacture everyday products but also harnesses the potential of biology and biotechnology as tools for sustainable production.

The goal: a circular economy inspired by nature

A bioeconomy is modeled on nature’s material cycles: waste is not generated in the first place, and there are no unused “residual materials.” All materials are recycled at the molecular level at the latest and are available for a new growth cycle.

The task now is to apply this circular principle to the production of food, chemical feedstocks, fibers, and materials, as well as the goods derived from them. For a fully circular economy based on renewable raw materials does not consume more resources than nature can replenish. Thus, a sustainable bioeconomy aims not only at the economic aspect of production but also at protecting natural resources. Using renewable raw materials or biogenic residues instead of fossil carbon sources to produce chemicals and materials helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the climate.

However, the scope of the latest research goes beyond the production of goods. In addition to generating bio-based products, there is a growing focus on endowing biodegradable plastics or materials with new properties. Chitin-containing crab shells and insect exoskeletons from the food and feed industries, for example, provide valuable chitosan, the utilization of which is being researched by Fraunhofer IGB in collaboration with partners from research and industry – for instance, as an additive for the finishing of textiles.

But can the Earth actually provide enough biomass not only to produce sufficient food for a growing global population, but also to supply raw materials for everyday products, cosmetics, clothing, and transportation? Agricultural land is limited; forests not only serve economic purposes but are, first and foremost, vital ecosystems that act as water reservoirs, green lungs, and recreation areas.

To ensure that sufficient biomass is available for use as a raw material while simultaneously preserving biodiversity and avoiding competition for land use, a carefully considered and balanced utilization of biogenic materials is of essential importance. In a sustainable bioeconomic system, therefore, residual and waste materials also represent a valuable resource.

Comprehensive utilization of these materials has not yet taken place. In particular, plant biomass is not only a carbon source but often exhibits diverse, complex molecular structures that can be utilized as natural functionalities to optimize material properties, rather than synthesizing them anew through chemical processes, which would require additional energy and raw materials.

At Fraunhofer IGB, we are therefore also working to recover and reuse nutrients from waste materials and wastewater. Manure and fermentation residues, for example, can be processed using appropriate process technology to recover nutrients and organic matter for reuse in agriculture as high-quality, compact organic and mineral fertilizers or soil conditioners. One of the processes developed at Fraunhofer IGB is now being tested on a large scale by an internationally active waste management company in a fully automated treatment plant.

In many projects, we have already demonstrated that substances contained in wastewater – from dissolved nutrients to residual sewage sludge – can be made usable with suitable processes. Nutrient-rich sludge water, for example, serves as a basis for life for single-celled microalgae: “Fed” with CO₂ from biogas, the algae produce high-quality omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants such as fucoxanthin, or plant-stimulating substances that can protect wine from fungal infestation. In the future, this could make it possible to eliminate the use of toxic, copper-based fungicides in viticulture.

Ultimately, even climate-damaging CO₂ becomes a raw material. Here, too, Fraunhofer IGB has already demonstrated through various approaches that the greenhouse gas can be converted into basic chemicals using different processes and renewable energy, and further converted into higher-value compounds using biotechnological methods.

Using renewable raw materials, biomass, and biowaste to produce chemicals, pharmaceuticals, or packaging is merely the first step toward a climate-neutral circular economy. This is because bio-based products are not sustainable in and of themselves, and even in a bio-based economy, it is essential to optimize the processes across the entire value chain with regard to resource and energy efficiency.

This is exactly what Fraunhofer IGB is working on. With new processes and innovative system components, we help save resources – from the extraction and preparation of raw materials, through their processing into materials and products, to their disposal or return to the production process.

Recording and analysis of material flows

To establish a new economic system that incorporates previous waste materials as valuable resources from the outset, material flows – such as waste from agricultural or industrial production – must first be recorded and their composition analyzed. Efficient solutions for a wide range of process and production engineering requirements are just as essential as those for logistical challenges. With the help of intelligent digital systems, this can be managed increasingly effectively.

Shorter process chains

For example, the shortening of process chains through new reactor systems, process control in continuous operation for high-throughput performance, or the integration of various processes into a closed-loop process has a significant impact. In particular, the use of novel sensors, digital technologies, and artificial intelligence enables process pathways that ideally generate no unused waste streams but instead direct the various components of the feedstock toward complete recovery.

Cascade utilization and biorefineries: efficient use of raw materials and residues

So-called cascade use is also an approach to utilizing raw and residual materials as efficiently as possible and establishing production and utilization cycles without inherent losses of residual materials. It describes the process of recycling material flows strictly according to a cascade model, in which the highest value-added potential determines the priority of use for the components of a raw material.

In the field of water use, the term “zero liquid discharge” has become established for this purpose. This refers to “wastewater-free” production, in which all contaminants in the water are converted into solid components that are as recyclable as possible, and the purified water is available for reuse.

On behalf of companies and as part of joint research projects, we develop processes to harness alternative resources such as microalgae, renewable raw materials, and biogenic waste, to manufacture sustainable and biodegradable products from them, and to recycle valuable materials or recover them for reuse.

On the occasion of the IBISBA workshop “New technologies as accelerator of a sustainable bioeconomy” at the Global Bioeconomy Summit 2020, Dr. Markus Wolperdinger explores the question of how the implementation of a sustainable bioeconomy can be accelerated.

He highlights the advantages of a bioeconomy, shows possible applications of the bioeconomy and approaches at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and finally elaborates on the measures that can be taken to implement the bioeconomy as a new economic system more quickly in industrial reality and at the same time meet the Sustainable Development Goals.