Bioenergy as an obstacle to biobased chemicals
The policy in support for biobased energy proves to be an obstacle to better applications of biomass, in the view of BioBTX and KNN, two Groningen based companies. This policy … Read more
A perverse effect of subsidies
Subsidies play a difficult but unavoidable part in the stimulation of new technologies. With subsidies, new and superior technologies can compete with incumbent technologies. Subsidies protect them temporarily from the … Read more
Coca-Cola blunder: non-information on the plant bottle – latest in a series of incidents
Last month, the Danish ombudsman spoke out against Coca-Cola. His verdict amounted to the assertion that the soft drink bottling company had greenwashed the plant bottle: suggested matters to be … Read more
Open-source biotech receives support from US Supreme Court
Whereas many biotechnological companies pursue patents that allow them to valorise their knowledge, the US Supreme Court recently ruled that DNA sequences in nature (or parts thereof) are not patentable … Read more
Towards a smaller scale in the biobased economy. But why, and to what extent?
Many researchers claim that the biobased economy will be organised at a smaller scale than the present economy. On this website we held the same opinion. Chemical plants would become … Read more
‘Some day, the plant might be worth more than the tomato’
Plants contain many valuable compounds, even in parts usually discarded after the harvest. For instance, waste products from growing paprika (discarded fruit, leaves, binding materials) contain many carbohydrates, sugars and … Read more
The battle of the burgers
Juiciness, that was the missing element in this week’s synthetic burger. But hopes are high. Within twenty years we will all have the opportunity to buy a burger that did … Read more
New technologies will boost gasoline production from natural gas or waste
The price of crude oil has risen to a level at which it will transform the fuels landscape, says Lux Research, an American advisory group. In the United States, this … Read more
Volume of plastics waste in Europe must come down – but how?
European plastics manufacturers have joined NGOs in their stand for an EU-wide ban on the disposal of plastics in landfills. They argue that Europe needs tougher recycling requirements to stop … Read more
Energy covenant: a breakthrough in the polder
Sorry, we publish this column on Dutch energy policy only in Dutch.
Green Chemistry Campus: at the intersection of agriculture and chemistry
The Bergen op Zoom region, in the Southwestern part of the Netherlands, is the centre of the new green economy – for those who did not know yet. They have … Read more
Willem Sederel: do not hype the biobased economy
Willem Sederel, manager of the Biobased Delta, situated in the South-western part of the Netherlands, shows no doubt as he indicates the biobased economy as the prime development model for … Read more
Piezoelectricity, for a world using less resources
Piezoelectricity is on the rise. Piezoelectric cells produce electricity from vibrations, or conversely vibrations from electricity. The former is relevant for energy harvesting, for our world increasingly needs the small … Read more
Sustainability a difficult issue even in the biobased economy
Sustainability – here to stay, or the issue of the day? We think it is here to stay. All the more important to be very critical about sustainability, and the … Read more
Biomass for industrial use: new criteria required
Use of biomass feedstock for chemicals and biofuels? The food/fuel discussion is very polarised. But a number of parties have come forward that seek a middle ground in this debate. … Read more
A more efficient food chain will result in lower soy imports
The Western European food chain is very inefficient, says Johan Sanders, professor ‘biobased commodity chemicals’ at Wageningen UR. We could greatly reduce imports, mainly of soy, by improving efficiency. ‘Each … Read more
Johan Sanders: counteract inefficiency in biobased economy development
‘The biobased economy is based on another logic than the existing economy,’ says Johan Sanders. ‘And many problems in the transition to a biobased economy arise from the fact that … Read more
BRIDGE: a unique link between innovative sectors
A happy man, Barend Verachtert called himself, head of the unit Biotechnology of DG Research & Innovation of the European Commission. Friday 17 May 2013, at 5 o’clock in the … Read more
In search of sustainable materials
Plexiglas emits 2½ kilos of CO2 per kilogram of product, Geo and I find. We looked it up on the internet. Glass is much less CO2-efficient, 8.4 kilos of CO2 … Read more
Old leftist demons in the perception of sustainability
Old patterns are pervasive in the perception of sustainability. Motor car journalists do not like the Toyota Prius, not because it would be a bad car, but because it has … Read more
Room for sustainable agriculture: a fine advice for yesterday
Generals always seem to be engaged in winning the last war; likewise, the recently installed Dutch Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (RLI), has issued a report on yesterday’s problems. … Read more
Seaweed, source of food, feed and chemicals
Seaweed is an attractive and relatively unknown source of food, feed and chemicals. Growing seaweed needs no land, and therefore it does not compete with other forms of food production. … Read more
Local democracy and taxation in a biobased society
There is a firm trend for centralization in decision making in our society. National governments increase their power at the expense of communities and counties; and Europe acts for more … Read more
The circular economy, a society without infrastructure?
Even though our highly technological society is vulnerable, this state of affairs is not much addressed by politics or societal debate. And vulnerable we are indeed. Think of the millennium … Read more
Solve the financial crisis, be straightforward
Five years after the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, nothing has been done yet on the set of measures which were thought to be essential at the time; measures which boil down … Read more
BioBTX: Dutch School of Catalysis strikes again
A room in the Chemical Lab of Groningen University (RUG) hosts a revolutionary test equipment. It produces bioBTX through chemical catalysis. This is a mixture of benzene, toluene and xylene, … Read more
CAP revision: integrate the biobased economy
In Brussels, civil servants are in the middle of a major project: the revision of Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy, CAP. The future of the biobased economy is heavily dependent on … Read more
Patricia Osseweijer: infrastructure is important for sustainability
Sustainability is growing in importance for the biobased economy, says Patricia Osseweijer. She is a professor in Science Communication at Delft Technical University, and she heads among others the Biotechnology … Read more
Energy forests are an illusion
Biomass has a fundamental problem for use in the energy sector. There is not enough of it, and it is too expensive. Fossil industry emits 35 Gton CO2 around the … Read more
My lifelong disappointment with academia
This column has nothing to do with the biobased society. It springs from my participation in an academic discussion. The subject: a philosophical inquiry into scientific explanations; forty years ago, … Read more
Huub de Groot: artificial photosynthesis is going to be the backbone of energy supply
‘I expect artificial photosynthesis to be fully operational in 2050; by that time it will be the backbone of energy supply,’ says Huub de Groot, professor in biophysical organic chemistry … Read more
Thin film PV maintains its rapid development pace
Whereas silicon wafer based PV technology keeps improving and production costs of PV electricity keeps falling, thin film PV is on its way to develop as a mass product as … Read more
Call Roel
Sorry, this column on the seventh Dutch biobased economy network meeting in Breda, is only available in Dutch.
Shale gas both slows down and accelerates the biobased economy
The very moment Kenneth Epstein, an American venture capitalist, proved by solid data that the biobased economy in the United States is waning, a Reuters message arrived in our e-mail, … Read more
NGOs challenge Chinese mega investment in Canadian tar sands
Canada and China are about to sign a trade agreement which would allow China to develop tar sands in Alberta in exchange for enhanced protection of Canadian companies in China. … Read more
Count on mankind’s stupidity – and its resilience
Climate change is going to disrupt society, that is for sure, says Paul Gilding. We cannot avert disaster any more, as mankind in its stupidity does much too little about … Read more
Jan Rotmans: much creativity in the transition towards the biobased economy
‘The unsuccessful energy transition stands in the way of the biobased economy,’ says Jan Rotmans. ‘Whereas the energy sector is going to disappear. In the future transition, the chemical sector … Read more
Oxfam still much too harsh
I had looked forward intently to the report that Oxfam in the Netherlands (Oxfam Novib) would publish on 26 November, which would justify its campaign against European biofuel policies. They … Read more
Wind power: lessons from an industrial past
It was a wonderful reunion, Forty years of wind power in the Netherlands, organized by Chris Westra, the man whose self-built wind turbine in 1972 marked the beginning of an … Read more
Shale gas: in the Cevennes, people stay alert
Most posters against shale gas have disappeared from the streets and the municipal poster sites. Some cars still show them. But resistance has not faded away. Earlier articles on shale … Read more
The moral judgment ‘food should not be used as a fuel’ is untenable
In two columns on this site I went into the food/fuel problem. Oxfam reacted to my first piece. But they did not answer some pressing questions. Therefore, once more the … Read more
Do we need to produce biofuels? Yes, we do!
Recent food price increases have fuelled a new round in the food/fuel debate. They have had a major influence on EU policies, putting a halt to ambitious renewable fuel targets … Read more
Oxfam food/fuel report: conclusions do not follow from evidence
Oxfam working paper 161, entitled ‘The hunger grains’ has had a profound influence on the EU decision to scrap its stricter biofuels mandate for year 2020. But this influence is … Read more
Certification is of the essence in the biobased economy
Certification. That was the common denominator in many contributions to the discussion in my group at the ‘Social aspects of bio-based chemicals’ meeting in Amsterdam, Friday 2 November. And cooperation. … Read more
The biobased society in the Dutch coalition agreement
Sorry, this article is only available in Dutch.
Danish Novozymes and Italian Beta Renewables join forces in cellulosic biofuel projects
In Denmark and Italy, Novozymes, the world’s largest producer of industrial enzymes, and Beta Renewables, a global leader in cellulosic biofuels and part of Gruppo Mossi & Ghisolfi, announced an … Read more
Staatsbosbeheer: wood is competitive
‘Wood is competitive for heating purposes, the alternative being natural gas (at the retail price for residential heating) or fuel oil,’ says Zwier van Olst. ‘District heating is an excellent … Read more
Long live Europe: seven trends which will carry us through the crisis
Europe appears to be in a bad state. Poverty and unemployment are on the rise, the rich and the poor grow apart, the financial system is out of control. In … Read more
Betaprocess: acceleration of fermentation by vacuum extrusion
DSD BV (Dutch Sustainable Development BV) has made available online information about its Betaprocess, in Dutch, English, German and French. Betaprocess operates on the basis of vacuum extrusion, which rips … Read more