What Are Biobased Chemicals?
According to the USDA, biobased products are 鈥渄erived from plants and other renewable agricultural, marine and forestry materials. Biobased products generally provide an alternative to conventional petroleum derived products and include a diverse range of offerings such as lubricants, detergents, inks, fertilizers and bioplastics.鈥�
How Biobased Chemicals Relate to Green Chemistry:
Chemists working in the biobased industry are addressing our environmentally and socioeconomically unsustainable dependence on petroleum which remains the key feedstock for a wide array of products. Biofuels are a major focus of the biobased industry, but the sector is expanding. Researchers and firms now also emphasize and commercialize bio-derived replacements for basic chemicals on which nearly every industry depends. These replacements may even be 鈥渄rop-in鈥� direct substitutes for their petroleum-derived counterparts. Developing chemical feedstocks from renewable sources and using catalytic chemistry to create high-value chemicals that replace petrochemical products is critical to achieving sustainability.
Focus Principles
- Use Renewable Feedstocks 鈥� biobased chemicals can be made from a huge array of natural products, especially non-food byproducts of agriculture that may otherwise become waste.
- Catalytic enzymes can also prevent the use of hazardous chemicals and accelerate the transformation of plant waste into useful materials.
- Maximize Resource Efficiency - when designing chemicals and processes, it鈥檚 essential to consider the toll they will take on natural resources. Using biobased materials can help replace finite fossil fuels with renewables that optimize byproducts of existing industries like agriculture.
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Examples of Biobased Chemistry
Computer Chips
The late Dr. Richard Wool, former director of the Affordable Composites from Renewable Sources (ACRES) program at the University of Delaware, created computer chips using chicken feathers as a key ingredient. Keratin, a protein in the feathers, was used to make a fiber form that is both light and tough enough to withstand mechanical and thermal stresses.
The result is feather-based printed circuit board that works at twice the speed of traditional circuit boards. Although this technology is still in development for commercial purposes, the research has led to other uses of feathers as source material, including for biofuel. Prof. Wool won a for his work in 2013.
Corn-Based Plastic
of Minnetonka, Minnesota, makes food containers from a polymer called polylactic acid branded as Ingeo. The scientists at NatureWorks discovered a method where microorganisms convert cornstarch into a resin that is just as strong as the rigid petroleum-based plastic currently used for containers such as water bottles and yogurt pots. The company is working toward sourcing the raw material from agricultural waste.听
Alternatives to Petrochemicals
Elevance Renewable Sciences won a by using metathesis to break down natural oils and recombine the fragments into high-performance chemicals. The company makes specialty chemicals for many uses, such as highly concentrated cold-water detergents that provide better cleaning with reduced energy costs.
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ACS GCI Resources on Biobased Chemicals
- (The Nexus Blog)
- (The Nexus Blog)
- (The Nexus Blog)
- Green Chemistry鈥檚 Contribution to Biotechnology Innovation, Commercialization, and Strategic Positioning听(PDF)
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Selected Literature
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This 2015 report by Golden, J.S., Handfield, R.B., Daystar, J. and, T.E. McConnell is a joint publication of the Duke Center for Sustainability & Commerce and the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative at North Carolina State University.
This 2004 report published by the U.S. Dept. of Energy identifies the 12 biobased chemicals that could be produced from biomaterials and serve as building blocks for the creation of various useful molecules.
An overview of the potential barriers and drivers of biobased chemical development.
Addresses the main biobased chemicals that could be co-produced in integrated biorefinery facilities, market growth projections, and economic benefits. Report produced in 2012 on behalf of IEA Bioenergy - Task42 Biorefinery.
This study is an example of the generation of a lignin-based bio-oil mimic without the need of extensive and costly separations.
In this presentation, produced in 2013 by Biotechnology Industry Organization, showcases commercial facilities development from leading industrial biotechnology companies.
A life cycle analysis comparing four biobased and petrochemical products, demonstrating biotechnological processes based on sugar as well as amino acids.
