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Bioeconomy products

The aim of the bioeconomy is to move industry’s raw material base towards a greater use of biogenic raw materials or to increasingly use bioinspired processes and bring to the forefront issues such as climate protection and sustainability. The bioeconomy therefore creates new opportunities for services, technologies and products. Bioeconomy products already exist, especially as far as chemicals and materials are concerned.

According to the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), biobased products are defined as "products wholly or partly derived from biomass, such as plants, trees or animals. A biobased product is normally characterised by biobased carbon content or biobased content. The product may be an intermediate, material, semifinished or final product” (EN 16575: 2014).

In particular, biobased value creation means developing products that can last on the market and meet the sustainability requirements of the bioeconomy. This balancing act is not easy, because biobased products usually have a price disadvantage compared to fossil-based products. The consequential damage to ecosystems is not priced in for fossil-based products. Fossil-based production processes have also been established for many decades and are therefore closely coordinated.

Nevertheless, companies have already achieved economic success with some bioeconomic products. Biobased products have the potential to replace or improve fossil products; biobased products with completely new properties can create completely new solutions. This is made possible through the interplay of technological innovations, as well as environmental and economic benefits. It is not just the raw material base that counts, but also the willingness to innovate with regard to the use and development of biobased technologies.

The diversity of the bioeconomy means that biobased products are not restricted to one industrial sector. There is a relatively broad spectrum of applications and markets. Specific examples of biobased products are shown in the diagram. The focus of a biobased economy is to increase value creation with these and other products, while always bearing sustainability in mind.

The figure shows a diagram with a bar, a circle, another bar and a list of words. The bars and circles are arranged below each other and contain words.
Graphic representation of biobased product examples. The graphic includes raw material sources, the raw materials derived from them for the production of biobased products, biobased intermediates and end products as well as applications of biobased products. © BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH

Bioeconomy products

  • Protection against game damage - 13/01/2022

    Young forest plants need protecting against damage and as a result it’s often hard to miss the colourful plastic tree guard sleeves when out walking in forests. These tree guard sleeves are neither pleasing to the eye nor sustainable. Bernd Schairer UG from Albstadt has developed sapling protectors made of wood that contain no plastics, metals or chemicals, do not require removal and disposal, and are produced in a socially responsible way.

  • Plant residues - 14/12/2021

    Straw cannot yet be spun into gold, but in Mannheim, Germany, it is being turned into something else of great value: Essity is the first and only company in Europe to produce toilet paper and kitchen rolls from wheat straw in a new pulp mill. From next year, these sustainable sanitary paper products will be found on supermarket shelves.

  • Further utilisation of plant residues - 25/11/2021

    Biogas plants produce energy-rich gas by fermenting biomass. This process generates both liquid and solid fibrous and particulate fermentation residues. Researchers at the German Institutes of Textile and Fibre Research (DITF) have now managed to create a resistant and water-repellent fibre composite material from solid hop residues that can be used as a veneer to coat wood panels.

Website address: https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/bw/definition/bioeconomy-products