Green Biorefinery systems for the production of climate-smart sustainable products from grasses, legumes and green crop residues

Gaffey, James; Rajuaria, Gaurav; McMahon, Helena; Ravindran, Rajeev; Domı́nguez, Carmen; Jensen, Morten Ambye; Souza, Macella F.; Meers, Erik; Aragonés, Marta Macías; Skunca, Dubravka; Sanders, J.P.M.

doi:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108168

Cited by 23 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 121 publications

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“…An interesting new possibility to support increasing ley cultivation is the use of grass-clover biomass as feedstock for green biorefineries. A green biorefinery converts biomass into a range of products and energy 36,37 , effectively maximizing the potential of the biogenic feedstock by producing protein concentrates (substituting for soy imports), biofuels, and other biobased products 38,39 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining continuous data on soil properties and land use to explore soil carbon changes and soil structure indicators

Rehn,

Berndes,

Cederberg

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Increasing crop rotational diversity, e.g., by including grass-clover ley crops, can increase soil organic carbon (SOC) and support climate change mitigation and adaptation, with economic and environmental co-benefits. Here, we apply a method for using large and continuously updated geospatial datasets on (i) agricultural land use and (ii) soil properties, from the Swedish national soil inventory, to analyze how grass-clover (ley) cultivation in rotation with annual crops influences SOC content and soil structure quality (SOC/clay ratio). The results suggest a positive correlation between the occurrence of ley in crop rotations and SOC content. The method used in this study can build on and complement long-term field experiments and can enable the use of spatially explicit soil structure indicators for mapping and analyzing effects of land management, providing input to inform development and implementation of policies for land-based climate change mitigation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining continuous data on soil properties and land use to explore soil carbon changes and soil structure indicators

Rehn,

Berndes,

Cederberg

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…There are several challenging reasons why residual grass biomass is not always systematically utilised, such as lack of practical applications or unsuitability for ruminant animal feed at the local scale (e.g., ProAgria Oulu, 2018; Gaffey et al, 2023). Furthermore, due to the specialisation and spatial centralisation of agricultural production in Europe, there are areas throughout the region where livestock production does not exist (see, e.g., de Roest et al, 2018).…”

Section: Utilisation Challenges and Opportunities Associated With Mar...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, grasses could be an important feedstock for modern biorefineries in producing high valueadded products such as biochemicals and bio-based materials (Gaffey et al, 2023;Scordia & Cosentin, 2019), which would be reasonable in the context of replacing petrochemical production (Kumar & Verma, 2021). Additionally, grass biomass can be used as a component for organic soil fertiliser or soil conditioning products .…”

Section: Utilisation Challenges and Opportunities Associated With Mar...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Accessibility and Optimising Logistics of Marginal Land Grass Biomass in the Case of Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland

Ollila,

Kotavaara

2023

European Countryside

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Grass biomass originating from marginal agricultural land unsuitable for food production can be utilised in variety of bio-based productions. The key profitability constraints for such productions are regional availability and transport costs. The aim of this paper is to methodologically test open access agricultural field parcel data – enabled by the EU INSPIRE directive – integrated with the road network in measuring biomass accessibility and optimising collection and transport using geographic information system (GIS) technology in two Finnish case areas. The analytical framework applies closest facility and vehicle routing analyses for tractor and truck transport scenarios. The key finding is that the area of field parcels and the amount of biomass accumulating within an observed area are not the only important factors influencing transport efficiency: cost-effectiveness of collection routes can be equally high in regions with scarce and abundant biomass areas.

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“…Currently, grasses are mainly used as feeds for ruminants and equines, and to some extent in biogas production [ 3 , 4 ], but there could be higher added value use for several components of the green biomass. Novel sustainable products derived from grass, such as paper and packaging, nanofibers, animal bedding, novel protein feeds, extracted proteins, biochemicals, nutraceuticals, bioactive compounds, biogas and biochar are seen to create new sustainable business opportunities in rural areas [ 5 , 6 ]. The concept of biorefining green biomass is not novel, as pointed out in a recent review by Domokos-Szabolcsy et al [ 7 ], who referred to the extensive work and number of publications by a Hungarian scientist and innovator Károly (Karl) Ereky since 1920’s.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel uses of ensiled biomasses as feedstocks for green biorefineries

Rinne

2024

J Animal Sci Biotechnol

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Perennial forage plants are efficient utilizers of solar radiation and nutrients so that there is a lot of scope to increase the production of green biomass in many areas. Currently, grasses are mainly used as feeds for ruminants and equines, but there could be higher added value use for several components of the green biomass. Interest in green biorefining has risen recently motivated by the increased sustainability pressures and need to break the reliance on fossil fuels. Novel products derived from grass, such as paper and packaging, nanofibers, animal bedding, novel protein feeds, extracted proteins, biochemicals, nutraceuticals, bioactive compounds, biogas and biochar could create new sustainable business opportunities in rural areas. Most green biorefinery concepts focus on using fresh green biomass as the feedstock, but preservation of it by ensiling would provide several benefits such as all-year-around availability of the feedstock and increased stability of the press juice and press cake. The major difference between fresh and ensiled grass is the conversion of water soluble carbohydrates into fermentation end products, mainly lactic and acetic acids, that lower the pH of the silage so that it becomes stable in anaerobic conditions. This has some important consequences on the processability and quality of products, which are partly positive and partly negative, e.g., degradation of protein into peptides, amino acids and ammonia. These aspects are discussed in this review. Graphical Abstract

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Green Biorefinery systems for the production of climate-smart sustainable products from grasses, legumes and green crop residues

Cited by 23 publications

References 121 publications

Combining continuous data on soil properties and land use to explore soil carbon changes and soil structure indicators

Combining continuous data on soil properties and land use to explore soil carbon changes and soil structure indicators

Measuring Accessibility and Optimising Logistics of Marginal Land Grass Biomass in the Case of Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland

Novel uses of ensiled biomasses as feedstocks for green biorefineries

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