Boards made from agricultural wastes, are they achievable? Often, mdf and chipboard are made from wood. But Ecoboard has a different approach: it uses agricultural wastes. Boards are a wonderful material. For many purposes, they are strong enough. They consist … Read more
Phosphorus is essential for life on Earth, says Chris Slootweg on his profile page of the University of Amsterdam. It is an essential element in global agriculture. It plays a prominent role in modern science and technology: organophosphorus compounds have … Read more
Recently, the Dutch site change.inc devoted attention to progress in the production of artificial eggs. Consisting of a number of compounds that approach the natural egg. But then of course, of vegetal origin. Eggs without the chicken, can it be … Read more
In a previous article, we wondered if the world will continue to produce food in sufficient quantities. What would prevent that? Population growth, increasing meat consumption, climate change, water scarcity and a diminishing agricultural workforce. But an article in Nature … Read more
Insects as food and feed have a low CO2 footprint, grow quickly, and have rapid reproduction cycle. So says Kees Aarts in the volume Our future proteins, A diversity of perspectives. They easily convert low-value materials into high-quality nutrients. Together … Read more
In a first article, we looked into the problem of animal welfare and ammonia emissions in modern cow sheds. Where faeces and urine come into contact with each other. Can we solve this manure problem – while maintaining an economically … Read more
Animal husbandry has a major ammonia problem; in the Netherlands, anyway. Cows are held in barns in which urine and faeces are collected together. This is a perfect mix for a hefty ammonia emission. To the detriment of surrounding nature; … Read more
The Dutch site sciencelink.net recently devoted its attention to cultured meat. Not 100% vegetarian; for the instruction for meat production must be derived from a code derived from animals. But even so: it has great potential to substitute for ‘animal’ … Read more
Nature Communications ran an interesting article on the future of our food system; and specifically on the potential of micro-organisms (bacteria, yeasts, moulds) to develop new foods and food ingredients. Our food system grapples with unsustainable practices, land degradation, and … Read more
The European GRETE project has come to an end. The aim of this research project was to develop new textiles from wood pulp. With partners from Finland, Austria, Italy, Spain and Portugal, it spanned many biobased sources and many technologies. … Read more
A recent blog by Nobel prize winner Jennifer Doudna in Wired Magazine explores the power of CRISPR – the discovery that lent her the Nobel prize. Particularly with regards to CRISPR’s power to feed the world. Major challenges ahead for … Read more
Can climate change bring food crises? Consider the course of deviations in temperatures from annual averages in Germany between 1881-2021. This helps to understand the importance and seriousness of the work to be done. Originally posted on the site of … Read more
Knowable Magazine ran an interesting article by Bob Holmes on meat consumption. Would we stop climate change if we stopped eating meat? Yes, we might – but then, from an environmental point of view there is no need to stop … Read more
Profit is important but not our only driving force, says Michiel Vos. He is founder of CocoPallet, a company that produces pallets from the husks of coconuts. We already interviewed him five years ago. His company still exists, and it … Read more
Lignin is the least abundant of the three main wood components. In the past two decades, much research has been done on lignin processing. It hasn’t resulted in major industrial processes yet. Shouldn’t we shift our focus? This is the … Read more
Lignin valorization has become a top technological challenge. Lignin is one of the three main components of wood, the ubiquitous and carbon capturing resource. The other two are cellulose and hemicellulose. Lignin, accounting for 15-30% of woody biomass, is the … Read more
The Dutch farmers manifest themselves. They block highways and distribution centres. They pay a visit to the homes of ministers. They oppose plans to reduce appreciably manure production and ammonia emissions by agriculture. But they ignore that viable alternatives exist … Read more
An article in Chemical and Engineering News calls our attention to the struggle to control weeds. Will we be able to control weeds in the future? Will the EU, that wishes to halve the use of agricultural chemicals, come to … Read more
Seaweed has many applications. It is processed to food additives and mock meat products. It is used in additives in the food of chickens, pigs, cows, pets and horses. As a seaweed-biostimulant it can reinforce the qualities of soils and … Read more
A shift towards a plant-based diet could buy humanity a much needed pause in the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. The plant-based diet and global warming The effects of a phase-out of a meat-based diet would have a major effect … Read more
Biological crop protection is on the rise. In many respects, biologicals are better than chemicals. Generally, they carry low risk for human health and for the environment. Not necessarily harmless however. And they may not protect crops as effectively as … Read more
A new book by journalist Don Saladino draws our attention to the unification of eating habits across the world. It carries major dangers for our food crops. The genetic variation in the world’s food crops is diminishing very fast. The … Read more
Around the world, meat consumption is on the rise. People eat more meat as they become more affluent. But meat alternatives are becoming popular. They are fashionable; and their environmental footprint is much lower than that of meat. Moreover, their … Read more
Plant biostimulation is a new approach to agriculture. So far, substances that assisted the farmer were fertilizers and plant protection products, each with a well-known chemical composition. Biostimulants on the other hand are mixtures of compounds and organisms defined primarily … Read more
Mankind has known leather for about seven thousand years, now. Leather is durable and versatile. And biodegradable. But it is produced as a by-product of the meat industry, in a process with much environmental pollution. So here’s the good news … Read more
Food loss and waste currently causes an estimated $1 trillion in economic losses globally each year, according to Lux Research, a Boston-based tech and advisory company. This constitutes not just an economic crisis but also a major humanitarian one. It … Read more
Solar energy is rapidly becoming so cheap that it can crowd out other land uses, like agriculture. The farmer may earn a lot more from a monoculture of solar panels than from any crop. But this is an unfortunate development; … Read more
Quietly, industry is perfecting the art of using mycelium as a construction material. Mycelium is the invisible part of mushrooms: their ‘roots’ that consist of minuscule threads called hyphae. There is just one disadvantage to mycelium as a construction material: … Read more
Whereas the artificial hamburger has been launched with a lot of fuss a few years ago, artificial seafood has been developed in relative quiet. But it may come to the market much sooner. Texture and taste seem to be good, … Read more
In Asia, banana leaves were always used for food packaging. But they quickly deteriorate. They have been overtaken by plastics, that now often clog the waterways and pollute the oceans. An young Indian inventor has managed to process banana leaves … Read more
Pesticide resistance is a brand new phenomenon, historically speaking. It was first reported in 1914, just a century ago. A result of chemical, and later biotechnological methods of pest control. And now already, pesticide resistance has evolved into an almost … Read more
Fish farming is increasingly important. More than half of the fish consumed by mankind is farmed fish already, and its share is on the rise. Without fish farming, we would not be able to consume our average diet of 20 … Read more
Bitumen is a by-product of oil production and is used to bind the surfaces of paved roads. Some researchers, concerned about its environmental impacts and future supply if petroleum refining slows down, have started to develop alternatives: bio-bitumen. An alternative … Read more
In September 2016, Henk Kamp, then Minister of Economic Affairs in the Netherlands, opened Upcycling Gemert, a plant that processes mushroom waste into compost, fuel and heat. Only two weeks later, a press release announced another project, called BIOrescue, that … Read more
GreenTech 2019 is the major horticultural fair, to be held June 11-13 in Amsterdam. As they say themselves: ‘GreenTech 2019 brings people and technology together to increase growth, productivity, sustainability, inspiration and pleasure in horticulture. Because we believe that improvement and innovation … Read more
Photosynthesis is one of the most important biological processes on earth, if not the most important one: no life without photosynthesis! The Rubisco enzyme plays a key role in this process. But from the viewpoint of modern agricultural science, the … Read more
Hydrogen has a high energy content (120-142.9 MJ/kg); it is a clean energy carrier and can replace fossil fuels. Hydrogen is already a fuel of choice for space programs; it guarantees environmental quality and mitigates climate change. However, the presently … Read more
Last week I visited a network meeting focusing on rural development. This focus area lies at a somewhat greater distance from direct bio-based developments, but nevertheless will be impacted by the bio-based economy. One of the participants mentioned the lack … Read more
The COSMOS Horizon 2020 EU research project aims at reducing the dependence of Europe’s oleochemical industry on imported tropical vegetable oils. It now imports much coconut, palm, palm kernel and castor oil for the production of products like plastics, detergents … Read more
Last 15 September the first Kipster opened its doors in Venray, the Netherlands, a chicken farm that calls itself ‘the most animal friendly and sustainable chicken farm in the world’. The designers of Kipster have not just paid attention to … Read more
The International Conference on Bio-based Materials, an annual highpoint on the bio-based industry’s calendar hosted by Germany’s nova-Institute, was held this year for the tenth time, in Cologne, Germany. As always, the conference concluded the first day with the presentation … Read more
Algae are not going to be the solution to our energy problem. It’s their low productivity, says prof. Kevin Flynn of Swansea University to NNFCC. It’s their high production costs, says Elie Duran, director of Phycosource, to Formule Verte. Which … Read more
European seed companies are worried about the future. The existing sector – particularly in the Netherlands, Germany and France – is founded upon plant breeders’ rights, but the patent system is gaining the upper hand. TTIP (the coming trade agreement … Read more
Last week, we could hear everything about the wonderful substance isosorbide, a biobased compound with many useful applications. We were in Lille and its surroundings, on an invitation of the regional development agency of Northern France, and among others visited … Read more
‘Hemp is a very versatile crop,’ says René Sauveur of Pantanova, a Dutch consultancy company in the area of growing and processing hemp. But the market is difficult and needs to be conquered. No, our subject is not the hemp … Read more
In our first article on green chemistry we stressed the role of bio catalysis. This leads to a preference for feedstock from agriculture, at first in the small-scale fine chemical industry and now also in the developing green large-scale bulk … Read more
‘Plant ingredients are in the picture in industries: in the agrochemical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors,’ says Leon Mur, director of the Dutch Expertise Centre for Plant Ingredients (Kenniscentrum Plantenstoffen). For use in industry, the centre collected a ‘library’ of plant … Read more
Agriculture and chemistry are moving closer to each other. If they would integrate, Rabobank’s Daan Dijk said at the World Bio Markets conference, they will trigger the 21st century innovation wave. Together they will form a new economic sector as … Read more
‘Companies that consider the construction of a factory for biobased bulk chemicals, will have to consider Europe. Some years ago, this was quite different. Nobody even considered the option of going to Europe; the United States, Brazil and Thailand were … Read more
Biorefinery will come to the farm. On the basis of small-scale equipment that fits in a container; that allows farmers to create more value from their crops. The BioProductProcessor feeds on oily crops and a volume of well-sealed enzymes. It … Read more