Algae: researchers move away from energy
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, … Read more
Towards precision agriculture with less environmental impact
In our interview with Rudy Rabbinge we also discussed the future of agriculture. Can it develop in such a way that it will keep on feeding the world even if … Read more
Rudy Rabbinge: genetic modification has much potential but also entails risks for world food supply and the environment
Nothing is wrong with genetic modification and its application in agriculture (green biotechnology), says Rudy Rabbinge; agriculture needs innovation, and GM technology is helpful in that because it allows us … Read more
Hemp, a very versatile crop
‘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 … Read more
Green chemistry: towards an integration of agriculture and chemical industry
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 … Read more
Oil-producing algae clean up waste water
Green, oil-producing algae appear to be able to remove problematic pollutants from waste water. So they clean up the waste and produce fuel at the same time. Researchers of the … Read more
New protein sources will fill the gap
One of the main concerns about world food supply is the production of proteins. Lux Research, in a new study, suggests that ‘the current dominance of meat and seafood will … Read more
Myco Design Lab: art meets industry in mycelium
The Myco Design Lab of the international art foundation Mediamatic based in Amsterdam, links the worlds of industry and art. This program is about everything we can do with mycelium, … Read more
Mycelium, the ultimate green material
In the future, we might not blow, mould or cast most of our materials, but grow them. That is, if we embrace mycelium, the ultimate biobased material: fully green, growing … Read more
Bioenergy: the ambitions are the problem
Nothing is wrong with bioenergy; something is wrong with the ambitions that its proponents have: bioenergy should save the climate. Because that ambition would require the production of biomass in … Read more
Ton Runneboom: major role for Europe in biobased chemical industry
‘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 … Read more
Wood biorefinery has an enormous potential
At EFIB, last October, the most brilliant lecture – in my humble opinion – was delivered by Johanna Buchert, a Finnish professor who works at VTT, the Technical Research Centre … Read more
Insect biorefinery: it exists, it works
Insect biorefinery. Almost unimaginable, a few years ago. And yet, it is in full development. Its products will come to the market soon. The insect world will show us many … Read more
Industrial sugar: major opportunities for North-western Europe
This is going to be another story than told so far about the development of a green chemical industry in Europe. So far, the news was mostly negative: too little … Read more
Sugar, Europe’s strength
Europe should develop a more practical vision on its future sustainable industry, says Dirk Carrez. ‘We do not have to stretch ourselves to be as sustainable and as cost-effective as … Read more
Meat is fine! No problem for world food supply, says Rudy Rabbinge
Food supply should have absolute priority, no less so in a biobased economy. Says Rudy Rabbinge, emeritus professor in sustainable development and food security at Wageningen UR. That is why … Read more
Wood fibres stronger than steel
In the future, wood fibres can be processed to be as strong as steel, or as soft as cotton. These wood fibres are biodegradable, but stronger than steel or aluminium … Read more
Design rules for the biobased industry, #2: be lean on materials flows
A biobased industry should not copy petrochemical industry’s structure: that structure has been optimised for over a century, for this particular feedstock. In order to compete, the biobased industry should … Read more
Thistle biorefinery to reinforce Sardinian economy
If plans work out as projected, Sardinia’s new Matrìca plant in Porto Torres might show the way into a new industrial future for the whole of Europe. The Matrìca project, … Read more
Biorefinery as the key to the circular economy
The Dutch agricultural sector has one major problem: an excess of manure production as a consequence of the large livestock population. Dutch livestock farming depends on major imports of soy … Read more
First fair-trade and climate-neutral coffee on the market
Coffee-roasting house Peeze in Arnhem introduced the first fair-trade and climate-neutral coffee on the market, last month. In the production chain of this fair-trade coffee, CO2 emissions are first reduced … Read more
Wood biorefinery: major steps in Nordic countries
At EFIB, it was a surprise to me as a Dutchman, living in a country where agriculture is mainly about food crops, to learn that wood biorefinery is important in … Read more
The comeback of flax and hemp
Flax and hemp are making a comeback. Many new products contain these fibres. ‘But the growth does not yet entail large volumes,’ says David Kasse, an agricultural engineer in the … Read more
AVEBE looks for innovators
Entering the hall of the Dutch potato cooperative AVEBE, one’s attention is immediately drawn to a large pane of stained glass, showing all products once produced from the potato, one … Read more
Rapeseed as a frontrunner in agricultural innovation
In the Northern provinces of the Netherlands, Ron (son) and Hein (father) Aberson have been pioneering with rapeseed for ten years; they try to establish an autarkic cooperation. SOS, Solar … Read more
Seaweed is becoming big business
Seaweed is on its way to become a serious hype, and a sustainable one. At the second international seaweed conference Seagriculture, in Den Helder and at the Wadden isle of … 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
Flax fibre instead of glass fibre
Synthetic and glass fibres have never completely substituted natural fibres. On the contrary, there is a growing interest for application of natural fibres in composite materials – biobased or not, … Read more
North-western Europe, supplier of industrial feedstock: sugar
North-western Europe may become a feedstock supplier. Not a supplier of natural gas, but of sugar. A major opportunity for the chemical industry, and a possible breakthrough for the biobased … Read more
Marc Verbruggen (Natureworks): ‘Europe has the sugar beet, the best crop for biopolymers, but does not use it.’
Europe has the best feedstock for producing biopolymers, beet sugar, but instead aims at developing cellulosic crops. An example of Europe’s ineffectiveness. ‘A Southeast Asian delegation recently remarked to me: … 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
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
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
The entire potato
‘We should again valorise the entire potato.’ In one sentence, AVEBE’s ambition in the biobased economy. In order to realize this goal, the corporation has many ideas for opportunities in … Read more
Cosun and the unbeatable beet
For Cosun, the beet is exceptionally suited as a starting point in the bio-based economy. ‘The sugar beet has by far the highest yield in the Netherlands (and elsewhere), and … Read more
Essent: important sustainability efforts from a major utility
RWE-daughter Essent is the main importer of biomass for energy purposes in the Netherlands. It has gone to great lengths to improve the sustainability of its imports, and in doing … Read more
Biogas is big in Niedersachsen
In the landscape, differences between Niedersachsen and the Northern Netherlands are almost unnoticeable. On both sides of the border, biobased economy is in full development. A lot of research and … Read more
Grass, a valuable feedstock for the biobased economy
We should take another view of grass, according to Grassa. Cows in meadows are beautiful, but grass contains too much proteins for the cow. Why not extract that excess first? … Read more
Biorefinery, a new model for farmer’s incomes
‘Cows in the meadow in a real Frisian landscape will always be the subject of romanticism’, says Gjalt de Haan, ‘but the dairy farmer as the producer of milk as … Read more
Algae thrive in the Northern part of the Netherlands
Dutch Northern provinces could become the centre of algae production and technology. Algae contain proteins, fats and carbohydrates. For their growth they just need heat, carbon dioxide, and minerals from … Read more
First versus second generation
In the biofuel debate, it important to distinguish first and second generation technologies. First generation technologies produce biofuel from edible feedstock like starch (from maize), sugar (from sugar cane) or … Read more