It is difficult to find out why exactly Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, the two leading organizations in this field, oppose genetic engineering. Clearly it is important to them that a large number of people oppose this technology, and … Read more
Whereas the two companies discussed in this series so far use fermentation technology to imitate silk, the American company Kraig Biocraft Laboratories uses the old workhorse, the silkworm. They introduced spider genes into the silkworm in order to arrive at … Read more
Spider silk combines properties that are very difficult to achieve for man-made materials. It is claimed to be 340 times stronger than steel; we are also told that a net woven from spider silk threads 1 cm thick would be … Read more
For a long time, silk has figured as a proverbial example of nature’s skills: strong and breathable, and soft to the skin as no man-made material could achieve. But we are about to cross this border: artificial silk has been … Read more
One of today’s economic bestsellers is Doughnut Economics, written by the British economist Kate Raworth. Her book is an outright attack on the dominant neoliberal economic theory. Permanent growth is impossible! In growing permanently, we will transgress social and ecological … Read more
Mankind needs to set a clear goal: plastic waste should no longer exist in ten to fifteen years from now. This ambitious goal needs to be tackled from two sides: plastics design on the input side, and dedicated processing on … Read more
The impact of mineral, fossil and agricultural assets as a weapon in international politics will gradually become smaller, we concluded in three articles. Substitution of critical materials and the development of new technologies play a crucial role in this process. … Read more
The world will have to take another look at renewable energy. We need to start thinking visionary and large-scale. Time is over when solar and wind energies had to adapt themselves to their environment. On the contrary, from now on … Read more
Renewable energy sources are by nature ready to harvest anywhere in the world, and therefore not a source of international conflict by themselves. However, they depend in part on critical materials – materials of which the supply is by no … Read more
Geopolitics has long circled around reserves of fossil fuels, the most critical assets in a fossil-based world. But although they will be around for a few more decades, fossil fuels will gradually become less important as a global power factor. … Read more
Some energy analysts propose that system changes will seriously slow down the advent of sustainable and intermittent energy sources. Grid instability and/or its prevention would add appreciably to sustainable energy costs. But some system changes will propel, rather than slow … Read more
3D printing has the future. It will change the way in which we produce objects – maybe much less in factories and much more in shops around the corner. But so far, biobased materials have been difficult to 3D print. … Read more
In a first article on renewable energy system costs we concluded that these costs may be formidable if the electricity grid would remain much the same. This could jeopardise the future of renewable energy, and by implication, have major consequences … Read more
Nano3Bio is the name of an EU-funded program that investigated production and properties of chitosan, a promising biobased material. Recently the consortium held its final conference in Hyderabad, India. Chitosan holds important promises for medicine, agriculture, cosmetics and other industries … Read more
In the early days of renewable energy development, its adversaries would tell the world that renewable sources would be hopelessly inadequate. Traditional (fossil and/or nuclear based) systems would be indispensable because we would also need energy when the wind wouldn’t … Read more
The solar industry is in turmoil. The price of solar panels falls continuously and each year demand grows by 30%. This poses a major challenge to an industry that is quite sizeable already, with an expected turnover of some $ … Read more
Solar energy (photovoltaics, PV) is no longer that cute but hardly relevant technology of energy supply – it will evolve into the basis of our entire energy system. The world will have to take another look on PV: adapt itself … Read more
Researchers of the University of Bath (UK) and ModCell Ltd have developed straw as a low-impact and viable modern building material. As they say, ‘our research has made affordable, environmentally-friendly houses a reality. The first super-insulated, low-carbon straw houses are … Read more
Last 15 September the first Kipster opened its doors in Venray, the Netherlands, a chicken farm that calls itself ‘the most animal friendly and sustainable chicken farm in the world’. The designers of Kipster have not just paid attention to … Read more
Vredestein showed a prototype of its Fortezza Flower Power at the Eurobike exhibition in Friedrichshafen in August. This innovative road tyre is made of dandelion rubber. The prototype is the result of a EU joint initiative in which KeyGene, Vredestein … Read more
European biofuel policy is being revised. November last year, the new draft renewable energy directive (RED II) has been proposed, and decisions on it will be taken in the coming months. The main difference with RED I is a further … Read more
Bio-waste is problematic from two sides. It may be a problem to dispose of it, and it represents an unused value. In a world where ‘there is no such thing as waste’, it should be valorised. That is: upgraded in … Read more
On August 5, the Biofuels Digest ran a story on chitosan, an exciting biobased substance with a bright future, almost unknown to the public so far (and unfortunately, also to industry). We highlighted it almost three years ago. Since then, … Read more
Biobased chemical building blocks go through a difficult phase: with falling crude oil prices over the past years, these chemicals had a hard time to remain competitive to fossil-based chemicals. Nevertheless, a nova Institute report predicted an 8% p.a. growth … Read more
Cyrene is a biobased solvent intended to substitute toxic solvents in fine chemistry and pharmaceutical industries. It is produced by Circa, an Australian company that has partnered with the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence (GCCE) at the University of York, … Read more
Encouraged by Dutch top scientist Robbert Dijkgraaf, some internationally reputed scientists got a podium on TV to fantasise on the future, last 16 July. They gave their imagination free rein. For many scientists, it appears to be difficult to stay … Read more
Another major study on neonicotinoids (neonics) was published in Science, last month. It sparked vehement comments from groups like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth who want no neonics, as the study seems to show that ‘neonicotinoids negatively affect pollinator … Read more
At the Bio-Based Materials conference in Cologne, organised by nova-Institute, a special material came in second at the election of the bio-based material of the year: Paptic®. ‘The next generation of paper bags – lighter and stronger’, as they advertise … Read more
Mankind will have to grow more food on less land, so Hidde Boersma and Joost van Kasteren argue in the recently published volume (in Dutch) Ecomodernism, Rethinking Green and Growth. Genetic modification will play a major role in this process. … Read more
There’s always a time lag between the development of a new technology and a dawning awareness of its social impact. Then follows a debate among scientists, possibly followed by a public debate. This process starts by people asking difficult questions, … Read more
In three columns, I have investigated the question of bee colony collapse and neonicotinoids (neonics), the effect of pesticides on pollinating insects and natural pest predators, and finally the services that biodiversity renders to agriculture and the economy. I observed … Read more
In the first two columns in this series, I pictured the difficulties in establishing the truth on neonicotinoids (or neonics) and their effects on pollinating insects. The stakes are high. Neonics represent one third (in monetary value) of all insecticides … Read more
Neonicotinoids tend to have a detrimental effect on bees and other pollinating species – unsurprisingly so, because these ‘neonics’ (at a much higher concentration) are designed to kill insects. But it appears very difficult to gather solid evidence of adverse … Read more
As the struggle around neonicotinoids in the European Union is nearing a decisive phase, and my mailbox becomes overflown with panicky messages from both sides, I decided to make up my mind as to the truth of bee colony collapse: … Read more
In nature, many materials excel in precision. They perform very precise tasks – and as researchers delve into their functions, they discover that complexity is at the bottom of this precision. Almost all natural materials are composites, intricate mixtures of … Read more
Precision horticulture has evolved at great speed during the past decades. It will have a major influence on the world’s food supply, because of the quality and versatility of its produce. Modern greenhouses are closed, preventing the entrance of pests, … Read more
The biobased and circular economy is coming nearer and nearer. Each year, new applications of biobased resources come to the market. Industry aims at using the whole crop, among others by valorisation of what used to be called waste streams. … Read more
An era comes to an end. Ever since the start of the industrial revolution, mankind could only produce more, using more. Produce more food from more land. Produce more consumer goods from more resources, processing more ore that required more … Read more
‘Green PAC is the hub for green (fibre) chemistry in the North East Netherlands,’ says the organisation on its website. It initiates and facilitates business driven knowledge development. Green PAC (shorthand for Green Polymer Application Centre) is an initiative of … Read more
Bioplastics markets show a stable growth overall; but within them, the emphasis shifts to disruptive newcomers; so we learn from two reports issued last month. Synthetic biology (synbio) technologies are the great 2016 winner in the competition for biobased funding, … Read more
CocoPallet is a Dutch start-up that valorises the husk of the coconut to pallets for freight transport. Last month, Michiel Vos, founder and CTO of the company, was in Indonesia with a trade mission headed by Dutch prime minister Mark … Read more
Two factors are underrated again and again in energy policy: the potential of better energy efficiency (check here) and that of renewable energy. In our first column, we saw that important forecasters overestimate demand growth. We foresee global energy growth … Read more
Two factors are underrated again and again in energy policy: the potential of better energy efficiency (check here) and that of renewable energy. In Paris, world leaders have affirmed their intention to restrict global warming to 2 oC or less. … Read more
The European biobased economy strategy should not lead through drop-in chemicals. The key is in Smart, Small and Clever. This is the second of two columns on the European biobased economy strategy, published on 23 October and 27 October 2016. … Read more
Earlier this year, German nova-Institute published another thoughtful document on the biobased economy. It starts out from the observation that ten years of European policy making have not been very successful. The amount of biomass used in the European chemical … Read more
Plastic litter is a curse. According to Joan Hanegraaf, the only solution to this problem is strict regulation and enforcement. Look at Japan, Canada, Singapore. No plastic litter there. One would not even dare throwing a away a stub of … Read more
In his book The Revenge of Gaia (2006) James Lovelock reasserts his idea that the earth, living and mineral, is a self-regulating system. A system that is now put to an extreme test by mankind by the vast amounts of … Read more
In the past, biobased materials and chemicals earned scepticism. But the next generation offers high value in specialty chemicals, biopolymers and advanced materials. A clear value proposition when compared with their petro-based counterparts, says Lux Research; but smart business execution … Read more
Vertical farming is making headway into modern cities. Fresh produce being a unique selling point for vegetables, we will see more production units coming close to the customer. Vertical production units to be sure, often in old buildings and LED … Read more
Last week, we wrote about the versatile and biodegradable plastic PHA. The Dutch Platform Agro-Chemistry-Paper reacted to it: could you also highlight the pitfalls? Do you recognise the danger that most Dutch PHA projects start from waste as a feedstock, … Read more