To support progress towards the transition to a circular economy, the ability to measure circularity is essential. The consideration of the role biobased products can play in this transition is however still largely lacking in the current development...
This Special Issue proposes an array of 11 key papers aimed at investigating the complex and multifaceted nature of the biobased economy, focusing both on a conceptual understanding of the transition and on the measurement issues associated to it. Mo...
The development of a sustainable biobased economy (BBE) in Europe is associated with several challenges. Amongst others, lessons learned from the development of the biofuel sector and the complex debate around land use change associated with a growin...
The bio-based economy has been increasingly recognized in the sustainability debate over the last two decades, presented as a solution to a number of ecological and social challenges. Its premises include climate change mitigation, cleaner production...
The shift to a bio-based economy for the Netherlands is not only required because of climate change, but also for industrial strategy reasons. Traditional strongholds of the Dutch economy like the Rotterdam harbour, the agricultural sector (including...
Biomass use for energy and materials is, on the one hand, one of the key mitigation options to reach the 1.5 °C GMT target set in the Paris Agreement, as highlighted by the IPCC and many other key analyses. On the other hand, particularly in part...
A transition to a bio-based economy would entail change in coupled social–ecological systems. These systems are characterised by complexity, giving rise to potential unintended consequences and trade-offs caused by actions aiming to facilitate a tran...
Transforming the plastic industry toward producing more sustainable alternatives than conventional plastics, as an essential enabler of the bio-based circular economy (CE), requires reinforcing initiatives to drive solutions from the lab to the marke...
The concept of the bio-based economy has gained increasing attention and importance in recent years. It is seen as a chance to reduce the dependency on fossil resources while securing a sustainable supply of energy, water, and raw materials, and furt...
There is a growing interest in the bio-based economy, evident in the policy domain as well as in the academic literature. Its proponents consider it an opportunity to address multiple societal challenges, and the concept has broad reach across differ...
Seaweeds are attracting increasing attention as an alternative healthy food and renewable drugs source and as agents of climate change mitigation that provide essential ecosystem services. In this context, seaweeds represent marine resources capable...
Nowadays, plastic contamination worldwide is a concerning reality that can be addressed with appropriate society education as well as looking for innovative polymeric alternatives based on the reuse of waste and recycling with a circular economy poin...
The bio-based plastic market is forecast to grow in the next years. With a growing market share and product range, the implementation of circular thinking is becoming more and more important also for bio-based plastics to enable a sound circular econ...
The onset of formulating strategies and policies regarding the bioeconomy can be, at least partly, attributed to the publication of the policy agenda on the bioeconomy by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2009. The aim of t...
Bio-based fertilisers (BBFs) derived from waste streams represent a transformative approach to sustainable agriculture, addressing the dual challenges of waste management and food security. This comprehensive review examines recent advances in BBF pr...
Bio-based products are made from renewable materials, offering a promising basis for the production of sustainable chemicals, materials, and more complex articles. However, biomass is not a limitless resource or one without environmental and social i...
Sustainable development is an integrated approach to tackle ongoing global challenges such as resource depletion, environmental degradation, and climate change. However, a paradigm shift from a fossil-based economy to a bio-based economy must accompl...
The transition to a bio-based economy is expected to deliver substantial environmental and economic benefits. However, bio-based production systems still come with significant environmental challenges, and there is a need for assessment methods that...
Establishing an advanced European bioeconomy is an important step in achieving the transition towards sustainable development and away from fossil fuels. The bioeconomy can be defined as an economy based on the sustainable production and conversion o...
The transition from a linear to circular economy is driving a growing emphasis on utilizing bio-based materials for bioenergy and construction purposes. This literature review seeks to offer a thorough bibliometric and critical analysis of bio-based...
This review emphasizes the recent ongoing shift in the wood coating industry towards bio-based resources and circular economy principles, promoting eco-friendly alternatives. In addressing wood’s vulnerabilities, this study investigates the use...
Resource efficiency, waste minimization and valorisation, renewable energy, and environmental [...]
Replacing fossil-based feedstock with renewable alternatives is a crucial step towards a circular economy. The bio-based plastics currently on the market are predominantly used in single-use applications, with remarkably limited uptake in durable pro...
Over the past decade, the concept of a circular economy has increasingly gained attention as a framework for guiding businesses and policymakers. Given its significant environmental impact, the building industry plays a pivotal role in the transition...
The concept of bioeconomy is a topic of debate, confusion, skepticism, and criticism. Paradoxically, this is not necessarily a negative thing as it is encouraging a fruitful exchange of information, ideas, knowledge, and values, with concomitant bene...
Water pollution poses a global threat to ecosystems and human health and is driven by the presence of various contaminants in wastewater, including nano- and microplastics. Despite the magnitude of this problem, the majority of global wastewater is r...
In 2021, global plastics production was 390.7 Mt; in 2022, it was 400.3 Mt, showing an increase of 2.4%, and this rising tendency will increase yearly. Of this data, less than 2% correspond to bio-based plastics. Currently, polymers, including elasto...
Currently, the growing demand for polymeric materials has led to an increased need to develop effective recycling methods. This study focuses on the multiple processing of bio-based thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers (bio-TPUs) as a sustainable ap...
The construction industry is considered to have a high potential in achieving the sustainable development goals. The circular economy is a promising framework that supports the shift from a linear-construction industry to an environmental-friendly an...
Bio-based plastics are increasingly appearing in a range of consumption products, and after use they often end up in technical recycling chains. Bio-based plastics are different from fossil-based ones and could disturb the current recycling of plasti...
Countries are forced to develop bio-based economic strategies to promote efficient use of renewable natural resources. The transition towards a sustainable forest bio-based economy is associated with resource efficiency optimization, adoption of inno...
This article presents the results of the Innovation Support Program (ISP), designed to enhance the market readiness of 12 bio-based innovators from six European rural regions: Northern Sweden, Mazovia (Poland), Upper Austria, Pays de la Loire (France...
Currently, the epoxy resin market is expressing concerns about epoxy resins’ non-recyclability, which can hinder their widespread use. Moreover, epoxy monomers are synthesized via petroleum-based raw materials, which also limits their use. So,...
The circular economy requires high-value material recovery to enable multiple product lifecycles. This implies the need for additive manufacturing to focus on the development and use of low-impact materials that, after product use, can be reconstitut...
In today’s industrial short-lived products, long-lasting materials are often implemented (e.g., oil-based plastics for throwaway packaging). Circular economy teaches the importance of keeping these materials in use, as well as designing end-of-...
The wine industry produces substantial amounts of organic waste, particularly in the form of dealcoholized grape pomace—the primary residual biomass that remains after the fermentation process and the extraction of alcohol from winery by-produc...
The building sector accounts for 38% of carbon emissions, the principal cause of climate change. To meet the targets set by the Paris Agreement, including zero net emissions by 2050, it is necessary that governments develop a culture of sustainabilit...
The development of a resilient and circular bio-based economy is of paramount importance, notably in the EU, where current climate policies and evolving regulations strongly demand more sustainable practices, impacting monitoring and reporting, as we...
The global demand for sustainable and non-toxic alternatives across various industries is driving the exploration of naturally derived solutions. Hydrosols, also known as hydrolates, represent a promising yet underutilised byproduct of the extraction...
Today, plastic materials are mostly made from fossil resources, and they are characterized by their long lifetime and pronounced persistence in the open environment. These attributes of plastics are one cause of the ubiquitous pollution we see in our...
Measuring the contributions of the bioeconomy depends on the concept and method used. The concept of bioeconomy linked to biomass is widely used, and estimating the bio-based share in sectors, activities, or products is a limitation and a challenge....
The agriculture sector produces significant amounts of organic residues and the choice of the management strategy of these flows affects the environmental sustainability of the sector. The scientific literature is rich with innovative processes for t...
This study aims to investigate the chemical recycling of two different fully recyclable bio-based epoxy matrices based on epoxidized precursors derived from waste flour. The key for their recyclability relies on the use of a cleavable hardener. In fa...
Biogas is expected to contribute 10% of the total renewable energy use in Europe in 2030. This expectation largely depends on the use of several biomass byproducts and wastes as feedstocks. However, the current development of a biobased economy requi...
The growing demand for sustainable materials has driven the exploration of natural fibers as eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic reinforcements for composites. This study investigates the potential of Posidonia oceanica, an abundant marine biomass...
Polymers have long been central to modern materials science, but their durability has also made them major contributors to environmental pollution. A new generation of bio-based and nanostructured polymers is now reshaping this field, offering materi...
Transitioning to a bio-based economy is widely perceived as a necessary way to tackle climate change and other key environmental challenges. Given the major socio-economic consequences that such a transition entails for people’s everyday lives,...
LEVIS is an innovation project funded by the EU Horizon 2020 program. Its main objective is to develop lightweight multi-material solutions based on bio-based materials and carbon fiber thermoplastic composites for electric vehicle components and dem...
The policy of circular economy focuses on phasing out fossil-based packaging and replacing it with more sustainable alternatives. Companies face the challenge of choosing packaging for their products that are functional and affordable, and place rela...
Lignin, the most abundant renewable aromatic biopolymer on Earth, is rapidly emerging as a powerful enabler of next-generation sustainable technologies. This review shifts the focus to the latest industrial breakthroughs that exploit lignin’s m...
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