Going Green: Unlocking valuable renewable chemicals from the by-products of forestry Bio-Sep have developed a clean and green technology to separate woody biomass into renewable chemicals. Miranda Lindsay-Fynn takes a look at the drivers of the bioeconomy and how forestry waste products could contribute to the decarbonization of the UK chemicals industry.
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s the world gasps from recent extreme weather events, all eyes are on the outcomes of the COP26 as we look to our leaders to work towards resolutions to solve this climate emergency. We all have to ask ourselves - what we can do to change our carbon intense economy into an efficient, environmentally friendly one, where nature is protected, and societal needs are addressed? The circular economy and bioeconomy together provide valuable tools to combat climate change and protect nature.
Developments in the bioeconomy The circular economy concept aims to
recycle and repurpose waste, whilst the bioeconomy replaces unsustainable fossil resources with biochemicals from plant biomass. Combine the two and we can
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reduce reliance on fossil fuels by producing renewable carbon chemicals from efficient use of biomass waste streams. The global biochemical market is growing at over 10% per year. Driven by market pulls and pressure from the increasingly environmentally aware consumer, governments cracking down on single use plastics and shareholder pressure on corporations to follow their ESG agenda meaning chemicals companies are investing billions to eliminate fossil fuels from everyday household and personal care products. Most new biorefineries use food grade crops, such as maize and sugar cane, which are soft and relatively easy to process, but this takes valuable resources
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