increased faster than others and the highest turnover rise occurred in the manufacturing of liquid biofuels (+25%), the production of bio-based chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics and rubber (+22%), and in the forestry sector (+21%) [2].
Furthermore, biofuels use is estimated to increase and cover between 27% and 48%
of road transport fuel need in 2030 [8], whereas the demand for bioplastics, currently representing 1% of the total plastic used in Europe, is expected to increase by
50% in the period 2016–2021 [9].
Nowadays, the use of bio-waste and bio-based residues in bio-refineries is still a
niche. Indeed, despite bio-waste and bio-based residues are potential sources of
several high-values compounds [15], technical and non-technical barriers, such as
uncertainty on the quality of materials and limited experiences at the industrial
scale, are currently affecting the diffusion of their cascading use [10]. Therefore,
further investigations on the practicability of valorisation strategies based on a
holistic perspective are needed to foster the contribution of bio-economy to circular
economy.
3 Assessing the Potential for Circularity: The Overall
Conceptual Framework and Application to Food Waste
In order to assess the potential for circularity of bio-waste and bio-based
by-products, a conceptual framework has been defined. It aims to guide in the
identification of most preferable valorisation options for bio-based waste and
by-products streams, as defined within the European legislation on waste [6]
(Fig. 1). Therefore, it can be applied for either the identification of valorisation
routes for material streams commonly disposed or the investigation of more valuable options for material flows, which are already somehow valorised.
The proposed framework, for which an example of application to food waste is
reported in Fig. 2, combines the principles of the European waste hierarchy [6] and
the European circular economy action plan for biomass and bio-based products
[11], which promotes cascading use of renewable resource, with several reuse and
recycling cycles. The underlying and key principle for defining the hierarchy of
preferred actions is the minimisation of the dissipative use of high-value resources
and the maximisation of the cascading use of bio-materials, meaning that reused
bio-materials or the residues from the extraction of high values compounds may be
reused for other purposes, e.g. animal feeding. Coherently with the European Waste
Framework Directive [6], the proposed logical framework considers that a departure
from the “standard” hierarchy may be justified according to the environmental
preferability criterion, evaluated through a life cycle thinking approach. Other
identified elements, which may limit the applicability of a certain valorisation route,
are technical feasibility, economical profitability and legislation compliance.
Waste prevention should, in principle, be the preferred option. However, this
might not be applicable, e.g. in case of certain by-products unavoidably delivered
by a transformation process, such as bones and peels separated from the edible
Bio-Economy Contribution to Circular Economy
51
Furthermore, biofuels use is estimated to increase and cover between 27% and 48%
of road transport fuel need in 2030 [8], whereas the demand for bioplastics, currently representing 1% of the total plastic used in Europe, is expected to increase by
50% in the period 2016–2021 [9].
Nowadays, the use of bio-waste and bio-based residues in bio-refineries is still a
niche. Indeed, despite bio-waste and bio-based residues are potential sources of
several high-values compounds [15], technical and non-technical barriers, such as
uncertainty on the quality of materials and limited experiences at the industrial
scale, are currently affecting the diffusion of their cascading use [10]. Therefore,
further investigations on the practicability of valorisation strategies based on a
holistic perspective are needed to foster the contribution of bio-economy to circular
economy.
3 Assessing the Potential for Circularity: The Overall
Conceptual Framework and Application to Food Waste
In order to assess the potential for circularity of bio-waste and bio-based
by-products, a conceptual framework has been defined. It aims to guide in the
identification of most preferable valorisation options for bio-based waste and
by-products streams, as defined within the European legislation on waste [6]
(Fig. 1). Therefore, it can be applied for either the identification of valorisation
routes for material streams commonly disposed or the investigation of more valuable options for material flows, which are already somehow valorised.
The proposed framework, for which an example of application to food waste is
reported in Fig. 2, combines the principles of the European waste hierarchy [6] and
the European circular economy action plan for biomass and bio-based products
[11], which promotes cascading use of renewable resource, with several reuse and
recycling cycles. The underlying and key principle for defining the hierarchy of
preferred actions is the minimisation of the dissipative use of high-value resources
and the maximisation of the cascading use of bio-materials, meaning that reused
bio-materials or the residues from the extraction of high values compounds may be
reused for other purposes, e.g. animal feeding. Coherently with the European Waste
Framework Directive [6], the proposed logical framework considers that a departure
from the “standard” hierarchy may be justified according to the environmental
preferability criterion, evaluated through a life cycle thinking approach. Other
identified elements, which may limit the applicability of a certain valorisation route,
are technical feasibility, economical profitability and legislation compliance.
Waste prevention should, in principle, be the preferred option. However, this
might not be applicable, e.g. in case of certain by-products unavoidably delivered
by a transformation process, such as bones and peels separated from the edible
Bio-Economy Contribution to Circular Economy
51