Biobased economy (bioeconomy)

A bio-based economy, also known as a bioeconomy, uses renewal biological resources sustainably to produce food, energy, and goods. It also utilizes waste and material from residues. A bio-based economy is one way to transition from a fossil-fuel-based economy, and the transition is expected to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. In a bio-based economy, producers break up plants as completely as possible and convert them into valuable materials. As the number of bio-based economies throughout the world increases, they are expected to create revenue and jobs. They are also expected to increase income for farmers and improve economic activity in developing rural areas. Some experts assert that a bio-based economy can strengthen national economies and enhance national security as well. However, others state that the growth of bio-based economies damages communities in developing countries, especially when it comes to the growth of crops for biofuels.

Background

The shift to a bio-based economy is a response to global social, environmental, and economic challenges. These include climate change, food insecurity, and shortages of natural resources. In a bio-based economy, renewable biological resources such as corn, which is used to produce ethanol, are used to replace fossil fuels. These biological resources are also used to create products, food, and animal feed.

Biotechnology is an important component of a bio-based economy. This is a type of technology that uses biological systems and living organisms to create different products. A simple example of this is baking bread, which uses yeast, a living organism, to produce a product. Modern biotechnology involves more advanced modifications of biological systems or organisms to create products and fuels.

Bioenergy is one component of a bio-based economy that uses biotechnology to produce biofuels. Some of the best plants for biofuel extraction are corn, soy, sunflower, sorghum, and wheat. Ethanol is a biofuel that is produced from various plant materials, known as biomass. Ethanol can be blended with gasoline. This increases octane and cuts down on carbon monoxide and other unwanted emissions. E10 is the most common ethanol blend, containing 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline. This type of ethanol can be used in most gasoline-powered vehicles. Some vehicles can take even higher blends of ethanol (51–83 percent). These are called flexible fuel vehicles. About 97 percent of gasoline in the United States contains some percentage of ethanol. Ethanol is often produced through the fermentation of plant starches and sugars. In the United States, corn starch is most often used.

Biodiesel, another biofuel, comes from new or used vegetable oils and animal fats. This fuel source is a cleaner alternative to petroleum-based diesel. It is nontoxic and biodegradable and produced by combining alcohol with vegetable oil, animal fat or recycled cooking grease. Biodiesel can also be blended. B20 (20 percent biodiesel, 80 percent petroleum diesel) is the most common blend. B100 is pure biodiesel. Other biofuels include wood, biogas, methanol, and butanol (made from algae).

Biofuels are seen by some as the “glue” of a bioeconomy. This is partly because modern economies have high energy requirements. However, according to Biobased Press, a highly developed bio-based economy mainly uses bio-based resources to produce chemicals and materials. Energy is a side product. This ensures that competition with food supply is minimal. However, the system is currently flipped—the majority of biomass is used for energy production.

Overview

Emphasis on the creation of bio-based economies has grown since the 2010s. In 2010, the German government adopted a “National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030.” In 2012, the European Commission released a statement saying that Europe needed to transition to a post-petroleum economy. The European Union’s (EU) Horizon 2020 research program places the bioeconomy at the center of its investment program. Additionally, the EU launched the European Green Deal in late 2019. The plan aimed to make the EU climate neutral by 2050 but progress has been challenging. The introduction of lab innovations into the market has been difficult. According to Labiotech, Europe has a strong academic presence in bio-based technology, but that has not been easily transferred to the industry. There is also a lack of private funding for bio-based technology. Lastly, bio-based industries are usually more expensive than fossil fuels in the short-term, which means companies looking to maximize profits are unlikely to pay extra for bio-based goods. The industry also suffers from a lack of public awareness.

The United States launched the BioPreferred Program, an initiative managed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the goal of increasing the purchase and use of bio-based products. The program was created with the 2002 Farm Bill and reauthorized and expanded in 2018. BioPreferred seeks to reduce the United States’ reliance on petroleum and its associated environmental and health impacts. It attempts to address the issue by enacting mandatory purchasing requirements for federal agencies and their contractors. The USDA has identified 139 categories of bio-based products that include cleaners, carpets, lubricants, and paints. USDA agencies and their contractors are required to purchase products from these categories with a defined minimum bio-based content. This part of the program uses tools such as the BioPreferred Catalog. The BioPreferred Program also utilizes a voluntary labeling system for bio-based products. The goal of the program is to make it easier for consumers as when shopping for bio-based alternatives. Bio-based products in the BioPreferred program do not include food, animal feed, or fuel.

The USDA released a 2018 report indicating that the bio-based economy was playing an increasingly important role in the American economy. For instance, ethanol production went from 175 million gallons in 1980 to 14.7 billion gallons in 2015. In 2022 that number was up to 15.4 billion gallons, with 21 states boasting ethanol producing facilities. The US is the biggest producer of ethanol. The number of ethanol plants in the country was also on the rise, with 199 in 2016. This accounted for 270,000 jobs. Biodiesel also increased from 343 million gallons in 2010 to 3.1 billion gallons in 2022. Additionally, the United States became the largest exporter of wood pellets in the world. The number of bio-based products in the United States jumped from 17,000 in 2008 to 40,000 in 2014. About 4.22 million jobs were connected to the bio-based products industry in 2014. Bio-based products contributed $393 billion to the US economy that year.

According to a 2019 report by the USDA, the bio-based products industry in the United States contributed to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in 2017. The report estimated the reduction of carbon dioxide to be as much as 12.7 million metric tons because of the production and use of bio-based products. Additionally, the report estimated that petroleum savings from the production and use of bio-based products was up to 9.4 million barrels of oil in 2017.

The USDA’s 2018 report also considered land use devoted to the production of crops involved with the bioeconomy. It found that corn acreage devoted to ethanol remained low and stable through the 1990s but started to spike around 2001. In 2012, corn acreage devoted to ethanol production reached 46 million acres. After that, corn acreage went through a brief decline and then plateaued and stabilized at around 32 million acres.

However, bio-based economies have been criticized, especially when it comes to land use. According to the Transnational Institute, the bioeconomy’s focus on biofuels has caused land grabbing in what is known as the “Global South,” or countries in the Southern Hemisphere that tend to be poorer. Agricultural land that used to be used for growing food crops for the people in these countries is now being converted to agrofuel monocultures containing just one crop. This is causing negative economic, social, and environmental impacts in these regions. The institute also noted that decreased emissions are greatly overestimated. For example, they said the EU’s dependence on biomass imports continues to grow. However, this has not decreased European nations’ reliance on fossil fuels. In addition, the bioeconomy completely ignores high levels of consumption, the cause of resource depletion worldwide. The institute contends that biofuels negatively impact the environment more than fossil fuels, particularly when it comes to land lost, access to resources, livelihoods, and food security in the Global South. They suggest that policymakers adjust these problems to decrease future damage to the environment and people.

Wageningen Economic Research offered a several ways to help transition more effectively to a bio-based economy. First, it suggested a close cooperation of stakeholders including businesses, policymakers, non-governmental organizations, and scientists to improve the competitiveness of both industry clusters and individual companies. This cooperation would improve the competitiveness of the bio-economy as a whole. The organization also said that new revenue models and monitoring systems are necessary so that governments and industry players have the data they need for tasks such as forecasting and consumer research.

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