The STAR-ProBio final newsletter with main results and outputs has been published!
Click here to download the PDF version.
The STAR-ProBio Final Workshop turns virtual
The STAR-ProBio project invites to its Final (virtual) Workshop “Assessing Sustainability of Bio-based Products: Where do we stand?”.
The workshop will take place on April 28th 2020 from 10:00 to 12:30 (Central European Time).
Registration is free, but subject to maximum availability of the conference platform. Please send an email to info@sqconsult.com indicating your name and affiliation.
Click here to download the agenda of the event.
ICT-BIOCHAIN & STAR-ProBio webinar – April 2nd (at 11:00 CET)
STAR-ProBio is co-organizing a joint webinar with the BBI JU project ICT-BIOCHAIN, a CSA aiming at promoting ICT, IoT and Industry 4.0 tools to enhance the efficiency of the biomass supply chain.
Luana Ladu (TUB) and Francesco Razza (Novamont) will attend the webinar and present the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT), one of the STAR-ProBio final outputs.
You can register for free at this link: https://www.
New STAR-ProBio open access publication from TUB in “Sustainability” (Special Issue “Sustainability and Standardization”)
Bio-Based Products in the Automotive Industry: The Need for Ecolabels, Standards, and Regulations
Simone Wurster, Luana Ladu
Abstract
At the Hanover Fair in April 2018, the Bioconcept-Car was presented as a model for the future of sustainable mobility. Likewise, a car made of cellulose nanofiber was presented at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2019. Various additional automotive applications for bio-based materials have been developed, some of which are already in use in cars. However, supportive measures for stimulating their market acceptance are needed. Based on a mix of research methods, this article describes how ecolabels, sustainability standards, and regulations might support the market uptake of bio-based car components. In addition, comparison with three other types of bio-based products are provided. The article ends with suggestions for future market development activities.
Click here to read the full article.
New STAR-ProBio open access publication “Effect of Bio-Based Products on Waste Management”
Irena Wojnowska-Baryła, Dorota Kulikowska, Katarzyna Bernat
Abstract
This article focuses on the end-of-life management of bio-based products by recycling, which reduces landfilling. Bio-plastics are very important materials, due to their widespread use in various fields. The advantage of these products is that they primarily use renewable materials. At its end-of-life, a bio-based product is disposed of and becomes post-consumer waste. Correctly designing waste management systems for bio-based products is important for both the environment and utilization of these wastes as resources in a circular economy. Bioplastics are suitable for reuse, mechanical recycling, organic recycling, and energy recovery. The volume of bio-based waste produced today can be recycled alongside conventional wastes. Furthermore, using biodegradable and compostable bio-based products strengthens industrial composting (organic recycling) as a waste management option. If bio-based products can no longer be reused or recycled, it is possible to use them to produce bio-energy. For future effective management of bio-based waste, it should be determined how these products are currently being managed. Methods for valorizing bio-based products should be developed. Technologies could be introduced in conjunction with existing composting and anaerobic digestion infrastructure as parts of biorefineries. One option worth considering would be separating bio-based products from plastic waste, to maintain the effectiveness of chemical recycling of plastic waste. Composting bio-based products with biowaste is another option for organic recycling. For this option to be viable, the conditions which allow safe compost to be produced need to be determined and compost should lose its waste status in order to promote bio-based organic recycling.
Click here to read the full article.
New STAR-ProBio publication “Life cycle assessment of autochthonous varieties of wheat and artisanal bread production in Galicia, Spain”
Câmara Salim, I.; Almeida-García, F.; González-García, S.; Romero-Rodríguez, A.; Ruíz-Nogueiras, B.; Pereira-Lorenzo, S.; Feijoo, G.; and Moreira, M.T.
Abstract
For millennia, bread and wheat have been one of the most important sources of nutrients in many civilizations. Today, mechanization and evolution in agriculture and food processing have intensified yields and modified the biological and nutritional aspects of multiple crops and foods. The Galician bread is a reference value of food heritage in Spain, which is made from common wheat grain and is a mixture of indigenous Galician wheat and conventional Spanish wheat. In the pursuit of product excellence, it is interesting to identify the environmental profile as support criteria in decision-making, not only to analyse product environmental sustainability, but also as a marketing element to improve consumer awareness.
The paper has a twofold perspective to analyse the environmental burdens of wheat cultivation and the bread sector, using life cycle assessment approach: 1) the comparison of the different types of agricultural systems, i.e. the cultivation of Galician wheat following a strategy of monoculture and crop rotation, certified Galician seed production and its comparison with conventional wheat cultivation and 2) the environmental profile of Galician bread. The functional units chosen were 1 kg of wheat grain transported to the milling facility and 1 kg of Galician bread.
The results show that wheat cultivation presents the main environmental impacts of bread production, mainly due to the use of agrochemicals and field emissions. The best cultivation scenario corresponds to a crop rotation system, since chemical fertilisation is not applied. In comparative terms with many staple foods produced in Europe, Galician bread has a low environmental impact. The overall environmental results of bread production draw attention to the dependence of bread and flour manufacturers on the agricultural sector, highlighting the need to share responsibilities across the supply chain. In addition, this study contributes to the stakeholder debate on environmental impacts related to food heritage.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720302308
STAR-ProBio final event in Brussels “Assessing sustainability of bio-based products: Where do we stand?”
The STAR-ProBio final international workshop will take place on the 28th of April in Brussels. Project’s findings and recommendations will be presented. SAVE THE DATE!
For registration please send an email to info@sqconsult.com indicating your name and affiliation.
Download here the latest agenda for the event.