Environmental Science and Engineering Seminar

Bio-based value chains are recognized as the most favorable routes for achieving a resource-efficient circular economy. The advancement of the bio-based economy over the dominant fossil-based economy highlights the requirement to shift towards sustainability to address emerging environmental challenges. In terms of current targets for sustainable growth, both bio-based and circular economies have the potential to directly contribute to at least 10 out of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the most important one being SDG 12 which is responsible consumption and production. In the bio-based value chain, the feedstocks could be biomass drawn from an existing primary production route (such as agricultural and forest residues, bioenergy grasses), or of a novel category (such as microalgae), or secondary origin (such as sludge, industrial wastewater, horticulture wastes, and household organic waste). Utilizing these feedstocks in a biorefinery not only addresses environmental issues but also creates an opportunity to build an integrated system to bring in additional streams of revenue leading to zero waste.