The significance of biomass in a circular economy

James Sherwood

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2020.122755

The significance of biomass in a circular economy

James Sherwood

Chemistry

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

A circular economy relies on the value of resources being maximised indefinitely, requiring that virtually no unrecoverable waste occurs. Biomass is highly significant in a circular economy in terms of material products and the provision of energy. To establish a circular bioeconomy, the practical implications of biomass use need to be appreciated by stakeholders throughout the value chain, from product design to waste management. This review addresses sustainable biomass production and its function as a feedstock from a European perspective. Anaerobic digestion of food waste is used as a case study to represent appropriate waste treatments. Crucial challenges are (1) Uncoupling the petrochemical industry and biomass production with renewable fertilisers; (2) Providing plentiful biomass for bio-based products by prioritising other renewable sources of energy; (3) Waste arising from food and agriculture must be minimised and returned to the economy; (4) Enhancing stakeholder cooperation across value chains.

Original language	English
Article number	122755
Journal	BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
Volume	300
Early online date	9 Jan 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.122755
Publication status	Published - Mar 2020

Bibliographical note

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10.1016/j.biortech.2020.122755

PROOF Circular economy - biomass (Sherwood 2020)
© Elsevier B.V. 2020. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy.
Accepted author manuscript, 1.16 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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