Synergy in food, energy and advanced materials production from biomass

Abstract

Biomass is a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, as a source of energy and raw materials for industry. However, this is often criticized, based on an alleged competition with food production due to the presumed scarcity of agricultural land. Data from Brazil and Ethiopia show that the creation and dissemination of new agricultural technology actually allows a significant increase in the production of food as well as energy and raw materials from biomass, bringing economic, social and environmental benefits. Moreover, polymers from biomass display unique features that make them suitable as the basis for making advanced materials, with desirable combinations of chemical and physical properties required for some applications. For instance, natural rubber and cellulose have been used to create new complex nanostructured solids capable of performing new functions. Biomass can thus be exploited as a source of new materials as well as petrochemical-like building blocks.

Npk: Essentials for Sustainability

“…The opposite vision of a bright scenario is supported by fast growth of enabling technologies related to information and cognition, biotech and nanotechnology. Together, they are allowing the production of growing amounts of energy, raw materials 2 and food, 3 from renewable resources, 4 while improving the quality of the environment and contributing to the dissemination of education, knowledge and other cultural goods.…”

Materials from renewable resources: new properties and functions

“…They are currently recovering their importance, following a century filled with great successes on their replacement by synthetics. Since the biomass is a renewable resource, the intensification of the use of its products is central among the efforts to build a more sustainable development, with greener production and consumption (Galembeck 2017a). Work in this direction requires concerted action and resources, including much new research and development (Galembeck 2015) in many areas that is not always fashionable or classified as "high impact" using bibliometric tools.…”