Biomass, Biovalue and Sustainability: Some Thoughts on the Definition of the Bioeconomy

summary: Biomass, Biovalue and Sustainability: Some Thoughts on the Definition of the Bioeconomy The success of innovation policies addressing the bioeconomy - and particularly those related to agriculture and food - will depend on how the concept is translated into policies, and therefore on how the term is understood and defined. In this article, different 'clusters' of definitions are considered, alternatively biotechnologies, biomass, and biochemical and biophysical processes as key criteria for identification. It is argued that none of these definitions properly address the issue of sustainability. In fact, a 'broad' definition of bioeconomy, encompassing all biochemical and biophysical processes, would make it useless for policy purposes. The article proposes building a definition of the bioeconomy around the concept of biovalue. It identifies the goal of the bioeconomy as the capacity to mobilise science to obtain high biovalue returns from low-cost living matter, for example organic waste, and includes the value of non-market goods associated with agriculture and food. In this regard, a distinction is made between 'natural biovalue', produced by quality agriculture, and 'biotechnological biovalue'. It is argued that the bioeconomy and the production of natural biovalue deserve specific attention and that a sustainable bioeconomy should not undermine the potential of natural biovalue through competition for the same land and water resources. ?????? 2013 The Agricultural Economics Society and the European Association of Agricultural Economists

Chitin and Chitosan as Sources of Bio‐Based Building Blocks and Chemicals

Chitin and chitosan polymers are a valuable source of functional chemicals and materials. Chemical and/or enzymatic depolymerisation processes have been developed for the production of chitooligosaccharides (COS), N‐acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and glucosamine (GlcN), which have a wide variety of applications. New technologies are now emerging to convert chitin and its derivatives into platform chemicals. Chemical liquefaction of chitin can lead to bulk chemicals like acetic acid and platform chemicals like hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and amine‐containing monomers for polymers, in low yield. The monomers GlcNAc and GlcN can be converted into N‐containing HMF derivatives, opening a pathway for furan‐based monomers for polyamides. Selective catalytic oxidation of GlcN results in the production of D‐glucosaminic acid (DGA). This acid is a valuable building block for the synthesis of various amino acids for biomedical applications and bio‐based chiral polyamides. Further technological improvements are necessary to increase the selectivity and efficiency of reactions, particularly for the conversion of polymeric chitin and chitosan into building blocks.<br/

Self-fulfilling prophecies of the European <i>knowledge-based bio-economy</i>: the discursive shaping of institutional and policy frameworks in the bio-pharmaceuticals sector

Discourses matter. They help to shape institutions and policies. A new discourse has emerged in recent EU innovation policy centred on the idea of a knowledge-based bio-economy (KBBE). It is officially defined as ‘the sustainable, eco-efficient transformation of renewable biological resources into health, food, energy and other industrial products.’ The KBBE agenda links current problem diagnoses, research priorities, technological innovation, and societal benefits. In analysing the KBBE discourse, this paper draws on the sociology of technological expectations, which emphasises the performative, mobilising and self-fulfilling roles of such future-oriented visions. For example, the KBBE agenda shapes European research and innovation priorities in the bio-pharmaceutical sector. It frames socially relevant bio-knowledge in terms of pre-competitive research which can eventually facilitate new commercial products and patentable knowledge. Moreover, the agenda defines new institutional and policy frameworks necessary to realise societal benefits from these products and knowledge