Bio-based chemicals
How can InCrops help?
The development of new biological processes and feedstock can reduce our current dependence on fossil resources. Fluctuations and increases in oil prices make biomass more attractive as a feedstock for bio-based chemicals.
The main feedstocks that are used for the production of bio-based chemicals include:
- Perennial grasses and starch crops, such as wheat and maize.
- Sugar crops, for example beet and cane.
- Lignocellulosic crops, such as wood, short rotation coppice and switchgrass.
- Lignocellulosic residues, for example stover and straw.
- Oil crops, for example oilseed rape and palm.
- Aquatic biomass, such as algae and seaweeds.
- Industrial and agricultural residues, for example food processing waste.
Biomass can be converted to valuable chemicals and materials, including platform chemicals, such as single carbon molecules (syngas and biogas), carbohydrates such as sucrose and cellulose, lignins and resins, oils, and organic solutions (for example ethanol, methanol and butadiene).
The primary platform chemicals can then be converted to a wide range of secondary products, such as polymers and plastics, paints and agrochemicals, using thermal, biological, and chemical conversion technologies.
However, significant challenges must be overcome, including the development of new catalytic chemistry for biomass processing, new technologies for separation and, importantly, achieving economic viability and production scales.
In 2011, bio-based chemical and polymer production (excluding biofuels) was estimated to be around 50 million tonnes, while global petrochemical production of chemicals and polymers was at 330 million tonnes. According to predictions made in 2010, the biorenewables chemicals market could be worth $6.8 billion with 22.8% GAGR between 2010 and 2015.
As this case study illustrates, plant-derived essential oils can be used to make a wide variety of products, ranging from animal healthcare to plant protection. The anti-oxidant properties of fruit and vegetables can also be harnessed in skincare; this case study demonstrates how we supported a company interested in the anti-ageing properties of tomatoes.
