Wind, sun, biomass; these are the main sources of renewable energies nowadays and the ones that have so far reached an industrialization of the technologies connected with them. Renewability and industrialization are two of the common features related to the mentioned natural resources.
However, there is one property that makes biomass unique and fundamental in a future of sustainable development, i.e. the possibility of producing biomaterials. Because of that, biomass will become more and more important in the near future. The development of environmentally and economically sustainable biorefinery concepts is thus not optional, it is a must.
Big companies as Coca Cola and Heinz are already adapting Eco-PET, polymerized from ethylene glycol produced from biomass, in several of their major products. In addition, Polylactic acid is a reality in the packaging industry, and several other biopolymers are emerging from research and development. This phenomenon marks the turn of the green economy. The higher price of oil-based materials and the reduction of price of materials from biomass make it possible for biomaterials to be competitive on the free market.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Eco-Design are tools that are already fundamental in everyday work in industry and whose importance can only get bigger and bigger. LCA is a technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life from-cradle-to-grave (source: Wikipedia). At PFI, LCA is used in several projects (e.g. KLIMATRE) to evaluate traditional as well as new, innovative processes and to develop, from the eco-design point of view, new, environmentally friendly products. It is expected that the request for biomaterials will be increasing in the years to come and LCA and other Eco-design tools will be fundamental to make decision on the uses of biomasses (materials or energy, Eco-PET or PLA, etc...)
Based on our fundamental knowledge of lignocellulose conversion processes and ongoing R&D activities within the LCA area at PFI we have been able to build competence in Life cycle analysis connected with biomass processing, especially from lignocellulosic sources. The intention is that our competence will aid the industry in their continuous efforts to develop improved and novel products, in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner.
Contact: Marco Iotti