Issues arising in the use of biomass derived materials for energy and industry DAVID TURLEY Agriculture and Rural Strategy Central Science Laboratory, UK Support & Partnership Why industry interest in NFC’s ? Performance advantages Cost advantages Legislative drivers Health and safety Emissions reduction – VOC’s, GHG’s Biodegradation/recycling/waste Marketing Why Government interest in NFC support ? Reducing environmental impacts Energy security Support to agriculture Rural support Reducing waste disposal Biodegradable Polymers – Energy LCA Fossil fuel equivalents / kg polymer PHA v Polystyrene (Gerngross, 2001) 2.5 Electricity 2 1.5 Steam 1 Raw materials 0.5 0 PHA PS Numerous strategies and aims EU Biomass Action Plan EU biofuel Directive US Vision for 2020 Traditional industrial crop products Step change in NFC demand Climate change agreements Rising oil cost Energy security issues Growing demand for biomass for electricity, heat and transport Equivalent energy value of grain (£/tonne) Cost effective biomass for energy £130 £120 £110 £100 £90 £80 £70 £60 £50 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 Fuel oil price pence/litre Heating oil c.75% conversion efficiency Grain c.70% conversion efficiency Ethanol growth figures Danisco Genecor Land requirements for biofuel crops % UK arable area given over to biofuel cropping Defra, Goldman Sachs Resulting Pressures Food industry concerns Soaring food price Switch to cheaper less healthy saturated fats 100 Data Jul-06 May-06 Mar-06 Jan-06 Nov-05 Sep-05 Jul-05 May-05 Mar-05 Jan-05 Nov-04 Sep-04 Jul-04 May-04 Mar-04 Jan-04 Nov-03 Sep-03 Jul-03 £/tonne World Market rape oil price (£/t) 220 200 180 160 140 UK Rape seed price (£/t) 120 Industrial use of maize World Maize (million tonnes) Industrial use % world prodn International Grains Council Projected 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 94.3 103.9 115.8 134.1 15% 15% 17% 19% Resulting Pressures Commodity market dynamics Pressure on raw material cost Competitive pressure from imports Sustainability credentials and QA Schemes (protectionism) Resulting Pressures Environmental concerns Clearance of rain forest and savannah Pressure on set-aside in Europe Pressure on input demanding crops Pressure to expand arable cropping areas Soil/air/water impacts ha/4km sqr >0 - 15 >15 - 30 >30 - 50 >50 Need to move to ‘non-food’ feedstocks Need high return markets to drive forward Utilisation of agricultural and forestry byproducts Dedicated biomass crops – optimised utilisation Utilisation of GM technologies Landscape impacts ? © Defra Current needs Improve material supply from land based industries – prioritise need Joined up research to deliver biotechnology solutions Identification of key chemical building blocks Greater knowledge of, and optimising, high yield conversion methods & co-product uses Properties and performance Identify & map pathways to success Current needs Need to identify new uses for chemicals from biomass – new functionalities Significant financial support Current needs Environmental benefits need to be defined and marketed more effectively cradle to grave LCA’s Recognisable marketing logos Retaining added value in the rural community
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