A Roadmap for Industry to Harness Biotechnology for a More Circular Economy.

Biotechnology methods and applications have the potential to accelerate a transition to a more circular economy. This article identifies five distinct points within a typical product lifecycle as areas where biotechnology can be impactful, starting with so-called 'beginning-of-life', with the ability to make many widely-used chemicals and materials using renewable feedstocks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This extends into a discussion of novel materials; a holistic approach to designing for improved lifecycle outcomes; compostability; and the potential for reuse and up-cycling at end-of-life, to enable a circular flow of materials. We propose specific steps that can be taken by chemical and materials manufacturers, designers and brands.

Bioeconomy - present status and future needs of industrial value chains.

The necessary reduction of greenhouse gas emissions requires a comprehensive shift from fossil to renewable raw materials. This is accompanied by a fundamental reorganization of the value chains of the energy sectors and large parts of the manufacturing industry. In the long term, bio-based industrial raw materials will be processed preferentially by the chemical industry. In order to use the raw materials as fully as possible, sectors that support cascade use and the recycling of by-products and products after use will gain in importance. These are in particular the waste management and energy sectors, which will be integrated into the circular value chains of the bioeconomy. The industrial realization of these value chains depends essentially on the legal framework conditions, which must be developed further accordingly.

Bioeconomy: Biomass and biomass-based energy supply and demand.

This paper addresses the challenges of the transition from a fossil fuel-dependent to a bio-based economy and implications related to the production of food, feed, bioenergy and other bio-based materials. The objective is to provide a comprehensive review of global biomass and biomass-based energy supplies and demand, with particular attention to the EU. Furthermore, factors related to setting priorities in the use of non-food biomass are discussed, as food security will remain the top priority. Finally, the changes in the bioenergy balance indicators in the Member States of the EU and new plant breeding technologies are analyzed. Overall, this study describes the complexity of the bio-based value chains in making decisions on how best to use biomass. The article presents a comprehensive review on global biomass and biomass based energy supplies and demand, discusses the European chemical industry perspective, analyzes the changes in the biomass based energy balance indicators in the Member States of the EU, and considers the challenges of the new plant breeding technologies.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Future of Science Careers.

As COVID-19 swept across the world, it created a global pandemic and an unpredictable and challenging job market. This article discusses the future of the 2020-2021 job market in both academia and industry in the midst and aftermath of this pandemic.

Combining Environmental and Economic Performance for Bioprocess Optimization.

Biochemical production faces economic and environmental challenges that need to be overcome to enable a viable and sustainable bioeconomy. We propose an assessment framework that consistently combines environmental and economic indicators to support optimized biochemical production at early development stages. We define internally consistent system boundaries and a comprehensive set of quantitative indicators from life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic assessment (TEA) to combine environmental and economic performance in a single score. Our framework enables the identification of trade-offs across environmental and economic aspects over the entire biochemical life cycle. This approach provides input for the optimization of future biochemicals in terms of overall sustainability, to overcome prevailing obstacles in the development of biochemical production processes.

Innovation potentials triggered by glycoscience research.

Glycoscience is an interdisciplinary field, which leads to different industrial applications derived from physicochemical and/or biological properties of carbohydrates. This study aims to evaluate how glycoscience may act as a driving force to make research innovative and sustainable in industrial and/or commercial areas. To this end, we rationalized the two main properties of carbohydrate molecules into three main value chains. The regional biomass (sugar, starch, wood) value-chain exploits the physicochemical properties of carbohydrates; the glycomics explores the biological functions of carbohydrates and the non-regional biomass (microbial, pectin, chitin) value-chain exploits the two properties. Each value-chain harbors one or more niches prone to or at an emerging stage of development, and all these niches share a techno-scientific push approach aimed at developing high value-added products with new functionalities, new bioactive glycans, and new enabling technologies that will lead to new applications and possible novel therapies and diagnostics tools.

Determinants and efficiency of Pakistan's chemical products' exports: An application of stochastic frontier gravity model.

The estimation of efficiency of industry-specific exports is very important to find exports' gap and to frame exports promotion policy for targeted industry. This study attempts to investigate the main determinants of chemical products' exports of Pakistan with 62 trading partners by applying Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) on an augmented gravity model for a period 1995-2015. The results corroborate that chemical products' exports follow gravity patterns. This study finds a negative and significant impact of import tariff on exports of chemical products while the positive impact of devaluation has been observed. Further, the estimations also take into account the impact of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTA), colonial links, common language, political disputes and contiguity by incorporating dummy variable for each variable and the expected positive effects are found except an insignificant effect of Contiguity. Further, the negative impact of political disputes is observed. The exports' efficiency analyses reveal that Pakistan's chemical exports are well below the optimal level and there exists a huge untapped exports' potential with its neighboring, Middle Eastern and European countries.

Clostridium butyricum population balance model: Predicting dynamic metabolic flux distributions using an objective function related to extracellular glycerol content.

BACKGROUND: Extensive experimentation has been conducted to increment 1,3-propanediol (PDO) production using Clostridium butyricum cultures in glycerol, but computational predictions are limited. Previously, we reconstructed the genome-scale metabolic (GSM) model iCbu641, the first such model of a PDO-producing Clostridium strain, which was validated at steady state using flux balance analysis (FBA). However, the prediction ability of FBA is limited for batch and fed-batch cultures, which are the most often employed industrial processes. RESULTS: We used the iCbu641 GSM model to develop a dynamic flux balance analysis (DFBA) approach to predict the PDO production of the Colombian strain Clostridium sp IBUN 158B. First, we compared the predictions of the dynamic optimization approach (DOA), static optimization approach (SOA), and direct approach (DA). We found no differences between approaches, but the DOA simulation duration was nearly 5000 times that of the SOA and DA simulations. Experimental results at glycerol limitation and glycerol excess allowed for validating dynamic predictions of growth, glycerol consumption, and PDO formation. These results indicated a 4.4% error in PDO prediction and therefore validated the previously proposed objective functions. We performed two global sensitivity analyses, finding that the kinetic input parameters of glycerol uptake flux had the most significant effect on PDO predictions. The other input parameters evaluated during global sensitivity analysis were biomass composition (precursors and macromolecules), death constants, and the kinetic parameters of acetic acid secretion flux. These last input parameters, all obtained from other Clostridium butyricum cultures, were used to develop a population balance model (PBM). Finally, we simulated fed-batch cultures, predicting a final PDO production near to 66 g/L, almost three times the PDO predicted in the best batch culture. CONCLUSIONS: We developed and validated a dynamic approach to predict PDO production using the iCbu641 GSM model and the previously proposed objective functions. This validated approach was used to propose a population model and then an increment in predictions of PDO production through fed-batch cultures. Therefore, this dynamic model could predict different scenarios, including its integration into downstream processes to predict technical-economic feasibilities and reducing the time and costs associated with experimentation.

Evaluating the consumption of chemical products and articles as proxies for diffuse emissions to the environment.

In this study we have evaluated the use of consumption of manufactured products (chemical products and articles) in the EU as proxies for diffuse emissions of chemicals to the environment. The content of chemical products is relatively well known. However, the content of articles (products defined by their shape rather than their composition) is less known and currently has to be estimated from chemicals that are known to occur in a small set of materials, such as plastics, that are part of the articles. Using trade and production data from Eurostat in combination with product composition data from a database on chemical content in materials (the Commodity Guide), we were able to calculate trends in the apparent consumption and in-use stocks for 768 chemicals in the EU for the period 2003-2016. The results showed that changes in the apparent consumption of these chemicals over time are smaller than in the consumption of corresponding products in which the chemicals are present. In general, our results suggest that little change in chemical consumption has occurred over the timespan studied, partly due to the financial crisis in 2008 which led to a sudden drop in the consumption, and partly due to the fact that each of the chemicals studied is present in a wide variety of products. Estimated in-use stocks of chemicals show an increasing trend over time, indicating that the mass of chemicals in articles in the EU, that could potentially be released to the environment, is increasing. The quantitative results from this study are associated with large uncertainties due to limitations of the available data. These limitations are highlighted in this study and further underline the current lack of transparency on chemicals in articles. Recommendations on how to address these limitations are also discussed.

Techno-economic and environmental assessment of biogas production from banana peel (Musa paradisiaca) in a biorefinery concept.

Two scenarios for the biogas production using Banana Peel as raw material were evaluated. The first scenario involves the stand-alone production of biogas and the second scenario includes the biogas production together with other products under biorefinery concept. In both scenarios, the influence of the production scale on the process economy was assessed and feasibility limits were defined. For this purpose, the mass and energy balances were established using the software Aspen Plus along with kinetic models reported in the literature. The economic and environmental analysis of the process was performed considering Colombian economic conditions. As a result, it was found that different process scales showed great potential for biogas production. Thus, plants with greater capacity have a greater economic benefit than those with lower capacity. However, this benefit leads to high-energy consumption and greater environmental impact.

Evolving biocatalysis to meet bioeconomy challenges and opportunities.

The unique selectivity of enzymes, along with their remarkable catalytic activity, constitute powerful tools for transforming renewable feedstock and also for adding value to an array of building blocks and monomers produced by the emerging bio-based chemistry sector. Although some relevant biotransformations run at the ton scale demonstrate the success of biocatalysis in industry, there is still a huge untapped potential of catalytic activities available for targeted valorization of new raw materials, such as waste streams and CO2. For decades, the needs of the pharmaceutical and fine chemistry sectors have driven scientific research in the field of biocatalysis. Nowadays, such consolidated advances have the potential to translate into effective innovation for the benefit of bio-based chemistry. However, the new scenario of bioeconomy requires a stringent integration between scientific advances and economics, and environmental as well as technological constraints. Computational methods and tools for effective big-data analysis are expected to boost the use of enzymes for the transformation of a new array of renewable feedstock and, ultimately, to enlarge the scope of biocatalysis.

Modular Chemical Process Intensification: A Review.

Modular chemical process intensification can dramatically improve energy and process efficiencies of chemical processes through enhanced mass and heat transfer, application of external force fields, enhanced driving forces, and combinations of different unit operations, such as reaction and separation, in single-process equipment. These dramatic improvements lead to several benefits such as compactness or small footprint, energy and cost savings, enhanced safety, less waste production, and higher product quality. Because of these benefits, process intensification can play a major role in industrial and manufacturing sectors, including chemical, pulp and paper, energy, critical materials, and water treatment, among others. This article provides an overview of process intensification, including definitions, principles, tools, and possible applications, with the objective to contribute to the future development and potential applications of modular chemical process intensification in industrial and manufacturing sectors. Drivers and barriers contributing to the advancement of process intensification technologies are discussed.

Synergy between bio-based industry and the feed industry through biorefinery.

Processing biomass into multi-functional components can contribute to the increasing demand for raw materials for feed and bio-based non-food products. This contribution aims to demonstrate synergy between the bio-based industry and the feed industry through biorefinery of currently used feed ingredients. Illustrating the biorefinery concept, rapeseed was selected as a low priced feed ingredient based on market prices versus crude protein, crude fat and apparent ileal digestible lysine content. In addition it is already used as an alternative protein source in diets and can be cultivated in European climate zones. Furthermore, inclusion level of rapeseed meal in pig diet is limited because of its nutritionally active factors. A conceptual process was developed to improve rapeseeds nutritional value and producing other bio-based building blocks simultaneously. Based on the correlation between market prices of feed ingredients and its protein and fat content, the value of refined products was estimated. Finally, a sensitivity analysis, under two profit scenario, shows that the process is economically feasible. This study demonstrates that using biorefinery processes on feed ingredients can improve feed quality. In conjunction, it produces building blocks for a bio-based industry and creates synergy between bio-based and feed industry for more efficient use of biomass. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Do industrial incidents in the chemical sector create equity market contagion?

INTRODUCTION: This paper examines a number of US chemical industry incidents and their effect on equity prices of the incident company. Furthermore, this paper then examines the contagion effect of this incident on direct competitors. METHOD: Event study methodology is used to assess the impact of chemical incidents on both incident and competitor companies. RESULTS: This paper finds that the incident company experiences deeper negative abnormal returns as the number of injuries and fatalities as a result of the incident increases. The equity value of the competitor companies suffer substantial losses stemming from contagion effects when disasters that occur cause ten or more injuries and fatalities, but benefit from the incident through increasing equity value when the level of injury and fatality is minor. CONCLUSIONS: Presence of contagion suggests collective action may reduce value destruction brought about by safety incidents that result in significant injury or loss of life. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This research can be used as a resource to promote and justify the cost of safety mechanisms within the chemical industry, as incidents have been shown to negatively affect the equity value of the not just the incident company, but also their direct competitors.

A multi-scale, multi-disciplinary approach for assessing the technological, economic and environmental performance of bio-based chemicals.

In recent years, bio-based chemicals have gained interest as a renewable alternative to petrochemicals. However, there is a significant need to assess the technological, biological, economic and environmental feasibility of bio-based chemicals, particularly during the early research phase. Recently, the Multi-scale framework for Sustainable Industrial Chemicals (MuSIC) was introduced to address this issue by integrating modelling approaches at different scales ranging from cellular to ecological scales. This framework can be further extended by incorporating modelling of the petrochemical value chain and the de novo prediction of metabolic pathways connecting existing host metabolism to desirable chemical products. This multi-scale, multi-disciplinary framework for quantitative assessment of bio-based chemicals will play a vital role in supporting engineering, strategy and policy decisions as we progress towards a sustainable chemical industry.

Chemical leasing--a review of implementation in the past decade.

In the past decade, research on innovative business models to manage the risk of chemical substances has sought to provide solutions to achieve the goals of the World Summit on Sustainable Development of 2002, which called for a renewal of the commitment to the sound management of chemicals and of hazardous wastes throughout their life cycle and set the ambitious goal, by 2020, to use and produce chemicals in ways that do not lead to significant adverse effects on human health and the environment. Chemical Leasing is an innovative business model that shows a great potential to become a global model for sustainable development within chemical management. This paper provides a review of the current standings of literature regarding the implementation of Chemical Leasing in the past decade. In doing so, the paper highlights the potential of this business model to serve as an approach for dematerializing production processes and managing the risks of chemicals at all levels. More in detail, it provides an outline of how Chemical Leasing has supported the alignment and implementation of the objectives of chemicals policy-makers and industry regarding the production and use of chemicals and analyses to what extent Chemical Leasing contributes to the implementation of a number of voluntary global initiatives, such as Cleaner Production, Sustainable Chemistry and Corporate Social Responsibility. This paper provides a systematic analysis of the gaps identified in literature regarding the implementation of Chemical Leasing business models. Based on this analysis, specific aspects in the field of Chemical Leasing are recommended to be further elaborated in order to increase the understanding and applicability of the business model.

Oleochemical industry future through biotechnology.

Lipases are the most widely used class of enzymes in organic synthesis. Enzymatic processes have been implemented in a broad range of industries as they are specific, save raw materials, energy and chemicals, environmentally friendly and fast in action compared to conventional processes. The most notable benefit is the moderate process temperature and pressure with no unwanted side reactions. In the past two decades, intensive research was carried out towards enzymatic synthesis of oleochemicals. This review has a sharp focus on the current implemented enzymatic processes for producing different oleochemicals such as fatty acids, glycerin, biodiesel, biolubricant and different alkyl esters via different processes including hydrolysis, esterification, transesterification and intraesterification.

Chemical Leasing business models and corporate social responsibility.

Chemical Leasing is a service-oriented business model that shifts the focus from increasing sales volume of chemicals towards a value-added approach. Recent pilot projects have shown the economic benefits of introducing Chemical Leasing business models in a broad range of sectors. A decade after its introduction, the promotion of Chemical Leasing is still predominantly done by the public sector and international organizations. We show in this paper that awareness-raising activities to disseminate information on this innovative business model mainly focus on the economic benefits. We argue that selling Chemical Leasing business models solely on the grounds of economic and ecological considerations falls short of branding it as a corporate social responsibility initiative, which, for this paper, is defined as a stakeholder-oriented concept that extends beyond the organization's boundaries and is driven by an ethical understanding of the organization's responsibility for the impact of its business activities. For the analysis of Chemical Leasing business models, we introduce two case studies from the water purification and metal degreasing fields, focusing on employees and local communities as two specific stakeholder groups of the company introducing Chemical Leasing. The paper seeks to demonstrate that Chemical Leasing business models can be branded as a corporate social responsibility initiative by outlining the vast potential of Chemical Leasing to improve occupational health and safety and to strengthen the ability of companies to protect the environment from the adverse effects of the chemicals they apply.