DSM position paper: More sustainable industrial production by means of
White Biotechnology
White biotechnology
The world population is expected to
increase from 6 billion to 9 billion between 2000 and 2050. This, combined
with the increase in overall wealth, will push up the demand for products by
3-4% per year on average with growth rates ranging from 2% in Europe and the
United States to around 10% in countries like Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Even at today’s global population level it is a major challenge to meet the
growing demand, where experts claim that we are reaching Peak Oil in the
period 2015- 2020, the point in time where we will reach the maximum rate of
global petroleum extraction. In order to meet this increasingly bigger
challenge in a sustainable way, we will have to make our manufacturing
operations much more efficient, but also need to look for structurally
different, i.e. less oil-dependant, production processes and raw materials.
White Biotechnology is an important part of the answer. It is the application
of “nature’s toolset”, for example micro-organisms and enzymes, for the
production of (fine) chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food ingredients, materials
and biofuels from renewable resources. DSM has invested in White Biotechnology
at an early stage to convert some of its production processes and to introduce
a wide range of new products. These transitions had remarkable effects at DSM
and other companies (1), especially due to the switch to renewable resources.
The application of white biotechnology offers a range of benefits:
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Clean production under mild conditions with reduced use of process water,
energy and solvents by up to 50% and sometimes even above, resulting in lower
emissions of waste water and CO2.
-
Use of renewable raw materials leading to reduced CO2 emissions across the
life cycle.
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Reduced operational costs, in some cases up to 50% of variable costs.
-
New products possible which would be too complicated to synthesize chemically.
In short, White Biotechnology often decreases the environmental footprint of
industrial processes and products whilst making processes and products more
sustainable by using renewable resources and more economically competitive as
well. White Biotechnology thus enables a more sustainable industrial
development.
Both (transport) energy and chemical production could benefit from a switch
from traditional – fossil-based - methods to White Biotechnology. The result
would be a more secure energy situation, combined with enhanced agricultural
development worldwide and economic development of rural areas, coupled to
substantially cleaner chemical, energy and transport sectors. White
Biotechnology is one of very few technologies where economy and ecology go
hand in hand.
The switch of transport fuel production from fossil to ‘bio-based’ occurs at a
fast pace, as biofuels are heavily subsidized and mandatory targets are set
worldwide. The switch of chemicals and materials production is at a much
slower pace, however. The production of chemicals accounts for 8% of all oil
and gas use worldwide, which is a substantial share and it is therefore worth
the effort to improve its sustainability. In 2003 it was estimated that 10-20%
of chemicals could potentially be bio-based by 2010, with an added value of €
11-22 bln from cost reduction and additional revenues (1). While currently
some 6% of chemicals are bio-based there is ample potential for further
uptake. However, it is clear that contrary to biofuels, transition of
traditional industrial processes to bio-based is slow and needs to be actively
stimulated to harvest the large ecological and economic benefits.
The use of biomass has been discredited in recent months, being blamed for
rising food prices and diminishing biodiversity. We share this concern. The
production of bio-energy or biomaterials should not create shortages in food
supply or negatively affect biodiversity. At the same time we see that biomass
is essential to reach society’s sustainability targets, and that there is a
need and challenge to increase bio-based materials production and use in an
intelligent and sustainable way, as also described at the end of chapter 2 of
this paper.
Barriers to further white biotechnology uptake
Why do
environmental benefits, lower operating costs and high oil prices not
automatically prompt companies to switch their (large) chemical processes to
bio-based alternatives? There are several reasons in the areas of bio-based
raw materials availability and costs, and incentives for investment in R&D and
production capacity.
Current incentives are largely insufficient. No concrete political agenda or
governmental policy exists today to promote a transition to bio-based
chemicals. Without concrete measures, the transition will fail and the
substantial benefits associated with it will not materialize. This sounds like
a paradox because of the huge economic and ecological benefits mentioned above
(1), especially at today’s oil scenarios.
First of all, large investments in R&D and production facilities are needed.
Secondly, white biotech alternatives have to compete with current chemical
processes that have been optimized for decades and are highly integrated and
clustered in traditional refinery and chemical complexes. They take advantage
of huge economies of scale and superior logistics, both in the supply of oil
and in the shipment of products downstream. Thirdly, shutting down existing
factories before they have reached their projected lifetime is highly
unfavourable. Fourth, ecological advantages alone, however sympathetic, have
no economic value in chemical processing today.
DSM is of the opinion that a huge opportunity for cleaner production is lost,
since bio-based industrial products have a lot to offer in terms of improved
sustainability, added value and industrial innovation, on top of the CO2
savings effects. CO2-reduction is a main reason for promoting biofuels.
Bio-based chemicals and materials should likewise also be stimulated and
supported to harvest the huge potential environmental and economic benefits.
Furthermore, bio-based raw materials availability and costs are a major issue.
White Biotechnology processes use renewable raw materials such as starches and
sugars which differ fundamentally from fossil-based ones in environmental,
economical, social and political senses.
Typically bio-based raw materials like corn and sugar beet or cane contain
some 10% of so-called fermentable starch or sugar. The remaining 90%,
consisting mainly of cellulose and lignine, may potentially also be used as
raw material. This is the so-called second generation technology, which is
currently being researched but commercial availability is expected only some
5-10 years from now.
Increased demand for bio-based raw materials, especially due to biofuels
increase, has led to societal concerns about the sustainability of biobased
raw materials production and price. As the production of bio-based raw
materials draws on limited arable land and water and requires fertilisers,
potential negative effects need to be monitored and managed. Prices of
bio-based raw materials are a concern for industry but also with regard to the
effect on food prices – the food versus fuel debate – as industrial (fuel) and
food applications compete for the same raw materials. Biofuels increase is
generally believed to be one of the factors in increasing food prices, next to
incidental bad harvests, stock effects and high energy prices, as well as
structurally higher demand for crops due to rising population and
diversification of diets towards more meat in developing countries. Experts
disagree, however, about the specific contribution of biofuels, calculations
ranging from minor to major contributions (2) with major regional differences
as well.
DSM does not want its raw materials to compete with food and lead to undesired
environmental effects. We believe that the debate should balance all
(potential) benefits and drawbacks of the upcoming ‘bio-based society’.
Stakeholders should jointly develop sustainability criteria while meanwhile
optimizing supply and demand sides: increasing agricultural production
capacities, improving existing first generation industrial processes as well
as speeding up second generation development. In this manner sustainable
supply of bio-based raw materials for all purposes will be possible.
DSM proposes a range of measures to provide incentives for industry to
facilitate a transition to bio-based production processes and to ensure
sustainable supply of bio-based raw materials
Governments together
with industrial and societal partners including academia should jointly
develop a vision and road map and create incentives for investing in white
biotechnology R&D and production:
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R&D efforts need to be significantly increased. Coherent public-private joint
programmes need to be set-up or expanded on national and international levels
building on existing academic strengths and on existing initiatives.
-
The EU and other parts of the world are to follow the US example with a
Bio-based Preferential Procurement Program which steers government purchasing
towards bio-based products and chemicals. Examples of these are packaging
materials, textiles, cleaning agents, car components and building materials.
-
The environmental advantages of bio-based products and processes across the
life cycle need to be quantified, including mitigation of fossil CO2
emissions. These assessments are to be subject to regular review as technology
and practical experience progress. Public awareness programs should be
implemented to aid promotion.
-
Second generation technologies that use whole plant material to make bio-based
chemicals, plastics and fuels should be stimulated to ultimately eliminate
competition of energy and food for the same resources. However, first
generation technology should not be immediately discarded because its
technology and market development are necessary requirements for the future
success of second generation technologies. Furthermore, since large scale
industrial application of second generation technologies is unlikely to appear
in the next few years, further improvement of first generation technology is
the only real short term option with still a lot of improvement potential.
-
Bio-based processes are best developed in an integrated setting. DSM therefore
advocates setting up integrated bio-refineries in which both bio-based fuels
and chemicals production can be developed and optimized to further increase
efficiency, better integrate materials’ and energy flows and optimize
logistics.
-
Shut-down costs for existing facilities hinder successful transitions of
(large-scale) chemical processes to bio-based. Therefore, governmental
policies should be targeted to mitigating the effects of shutting down
traditional factories, even if they have not reached the end of their
projected lifetime.
-
Governments need to create framework conditions in which the use of white
biotechnology offers financial benefits in addition to the ecological
advantages.
The supply of bio-based raw materials needs to be sufficient for all purposes.
Agricultural production needs to increase across the range. Measures to
increase and ensure sustainability of its supply for industrial use should
include the following:
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Bio-based raw materials for industrial use should be readily available at
world market prices. Tariff and non-tariff trade barriers such as those for
industrial sugar should therefore be structurally eliminated.
-
DSM is in favour of, and actively participates in, setting up a binding
certification system to ensure that agricultural raw materials for industrial
use are grown in a responsible way, taking into consideration the use of land,
water and fertilizer as well as the social consequences of the upcoming large
changes.
-
Experts agree that increased investments in agricultural efficiencies in water
and land-usage can go up to levels that would resolve this tension (3). For
example under-used agricultural areas should be used for growing crops, and
protectionist measures should be avoided. Furthermore, use of genetically
modified and otherwise improved crops could improve agricultural efficiency
worldwide without the associated problems of larger needs of water, fertilizer
and pesticides.
-
Waste streams should be allowed to be used as raw materials, especially if
second-generation technologies become available.
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Integrated Bio-refineries should be allowed to be placed where their
environmental footprint is lowest. Areas that have abundant water or land,
e.g. areas in Brazil and USA where biofuels use less than 3% of all crop land
and water is abundantly available (4), should not be restricted in their
efforts to divert agricultural production to bio-based applications, thus
allowing for local solutions instead of prescribing global ones.
More information on
http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/sustainability/biotechnology.htm.
(1) White Biotechnology: Gateway to a more sustainable future, EuropaBio, 2003.
(2) e.g. IMF, Worldbank, LEI, OECD and FAO.
(3) 2008 FAO Conference
(4) Ethanol Industry Outlook 2008, RFA and Evolution of Crop Land in Water a
shared responsibility, UNESCO 2006
