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The expansion of bio-based value chains is prioritized through various European Union (EU) policy initiatives. Due to the growing awareness of the importance of a sustainable bioeconomy in Europe, the need to increase the availability and quality of statistics is increasing. There are several essential aspects lacking, including (i) comprehensive databases and statistics for bio-based sectors; (ii) transparent methodology for bio-based data collection; and (iii) integrated value chain data and indicators that illustrate the flows of different bio-based commodities. The aim of this paper is to develop a bio-based material flow monitor to measure the physical contribution of industries to the bioeconomy. The material flow monitor describes physical material flows (including biomass) to, from, and within the economy. It is recorded in the form of supply and use tables. To measure the bioeconomy, the BioSAM database, along with disaggregated commodities and activities, are used. Data regarding waste generation/treatment and CO2 emissions/sequestrations are added to assess the impact on climate change. The results indicate that the bioeconomy in the EU is underreported due to a lack of data, leading to an insufficient understanding of its contribution to the economy. It can also be concluded that the data from the BioSAM tables are the most complete and have the highest disaggregation level for commodities and sectors, allowing one to measure the significance of the bioeconomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe, underwent severe eutrophication from the 1960s to the 1990s, due to phosphorus loadings from external anthropogenic sources. The subsequent and complex eutrophication control and lake restoration program resulted in a significant decrease in the external phosphorus loading to the lake. Consequently, Lake Balaton has been returning to its former meso-eutrophic character. In this paper, we explore the long-term dynamics of chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration, a proxy for phytoplankton biomass, and zooplankton biomass in Lake Balaton during its re-oligotrophication period from 2001 to 2017, and attempt to draw some conclusions on the subsequent changes in the fish stock. We found a proportional decrease in zooplankton and phytoplankton biomasses at moderate phytoplankton levels. However, below a certain phytoplankton concentration (< 10 μg l−1 Chl a), the decrease in phytoplankton biomass was not coupled with a further decline in zooplankton biomass because the fraction of small phytoplankton, edible for zooplankton, showed a much smaller decrease in biomass compared with large non-edible phytoplankton. Thus, improvements in water quality (i.e., reduced nutrient loading), partly via concomitant changes in the phytoplankton size distribution, did not cause a large difference in the fish stock in this shallow lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the future liquid biofuels will need to be renewable, sustainable, as well as technically and economically viable. This paper provides an overview of the challenges that the biochemical production of cellulosic ethanol process still faces. The main emphasis of the paper is on challenges that emerge from the scale of liquid biofuel production. These challenges include raw material availability, other consumables, and side stream handling. The pretreatment, C5 fermentation, and concentration of sugars in processing need improvements, too. Sustainability issues and greenhouse gas reduction also pose a challenge for implementation and require development of internationally recognized sustainability principles and standards, and certification of sustainable operation. Economics of cellulosic ethanol processes are still also an area under development and debate. Yet, the Energy Independence and Security Act mandate together with the European Union Renewable Energy Directive and other local targets are driving the development and implementation forward towards more significant contribution of biofuels in the transportation sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission expects the use of biomass for energy in the EU to increase significantly between 2010 and 2020 to meet a legally binding target to cover at least 20% of EU's total energy use from renewable sources in 2020. According to estimates made by the member states of the EU, the direct supply of biomass from forests is expected to increase by 45% on a volume basis between 2006 and 2020 in response to increasing demand (Beurskens LWM, Hekkenberg M, Vethman P. Renewable energy projections as published in the national renewable energy action plans of the European Member states. ECN and EEA; 2011. http://https://www.ecn.nl/docs/library/report/2010/e10069.pdf [accessed 25.04.2014]; Dees M, Yousef A, Ermert J. Analysis of the quantitative tables of the national renewable energy action plans prepared by the 27 European Union Member States in 2010. BEE working paper D7.2. Biomass Energy Europe project. FELIS - Department of Remote Sensing and landscape information Systems, University of Freiburg, Germany; 2011). Our aims were to test the hypotheses that European private forest owners' attitudes towards supplying woody biomass for energy (1) can be explained by their responses to changes in prices and markets and (2) are positive so that the forest biomass share of the EU 2020 renewable energy target can be met. Based on survey data collected in 2010 from 800 private forest owners in Sweden, Germany and Portugal our results show that the respondents' attitudes towards supplying woody biomass for energy cannot be explained as direct responses to changes in prices and markets. Our results, furthermore, imply that European private forest owners cannot be expected to supply the requested amounts of woody biomass for energy to meet the forest biomass share of the EU 2020 renewable energy target, at least if stemwood is to play the important role as studies by Verkerk PJ, Anttila P, Eggers J, Lindner M, Asikainen A. The realisable potential supply of woody biomass from forests in the European Union. For Ecol Manag 2011;261: 2007-2015, UNECE and FAO. The European forest sector outlook study II 2010-2030. United Nations, New York and Geneva; 2011 [abbreviated to EFSOS II] and Elbersen B, Staritsky I, Hengeveld G, Schelhaas MJ, Naeff H, Böttcher H. Atlas of EU biomass potentials; 2012. Available from: http://www.biomassfutures.eu [accessed 14.10.2013] suggest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Based on literature and six country studies (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden, Slovakia) this paper discusses the compatibility of the EU 2020 targets for renewable energy with conservation of biodiversity. We conclude that increased demand for biomass for bioenergy purposes may lead to a continued conversion of valuable habitats into productive lands and to intensification, which both have negative effects on biodiversity. On the other hand, increased demand for biomass also provides opportunities for biodiversity, both within existing productive lands and in abandoned or degraded lands. Perennial crops may lead to increased diversity in crop patterns, lower input uses, and higher landscape structural diversity which may all have positive effects on biodiversity. In production forest opportunities exist to harvest primary wood residues. Removal of these forest residues under strict sustainability conditions may become economically attractive with increased biomass demand. An additional biomass potential is represented by recreation areas, road-side verges, semi-natural and natural areas and lands which have no other use because they have been abandoned, polluted or degraded. Whether effects of cropping of biomass and/or removal of biomass has positive or negative impact on biodiversity depends strongly on specific regional circumstances, the type of land and land use shifts involved and the associated management practices in general. However, it is clear that in the six countries studied certain types of biomass crops are likely to be more sustainable than others. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Miscanthus is one of the top nine potential perennial energy crops. Its high production of biomass is largely due to its efficient C4 photosynthesis pathway and rhizome function, even in cool climates. As a relatively new industrial plant in Europe, it needs the support of both breeding programmes and biotechnology techniques. The paper aimed at synthetic resumption of genetic studies of the energy crop Miscanthus. Phylogenetics, genetic diversity, confirmation of hybridisation origin, genetic structure of natural populations, mapping, transferability of markers, molecular diagnostic and sequencing in genus Miscanthus were reviewed. Perspectives for the application to Miscanthus breeding of such molecular techniques as: hybrid creation with marker-aided selection, genome sequencing and synteny were also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Reduction of the emissions of greenhouses gases, increasing the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in the energy balance, increasing electricity production from renewable energy sources and decreasing energy dependency represent the main goals of all current strategies in Europe. Biomass co-firing in large coal-based thermal power plants provides a considerable opportunity to increase the share of RES in the primary energy balance and the share of electricity from RES in gross electricity consumption in a country. Biomass-coal co-firing means reducing CO2 and SO2, emissions and it may also reduce NO x emissions, and also represents a near-term, low-risk, low-cost and sustainable energy development. Biomass-coal co-firing is the most effective measure to reduce CO2 emissions, because it substitutes coal, which has the most intensive CO2 emissions per kWh electricity production, by biomass, with a zero net emission of CO2. Biomass co-firing experience worldwide are reviewed in this paper. Biomass co-firing has been successfully demonstrated in over 150 installations worldwide for most combinations of fuels and boiler types in the range of 50–700MWe, although a number of very small plants have also been involved. More than a hundred of these have been in Europe. A key indicator for the assessment of biomass co-firing is intrduced and used to evaluate all available biomass co-firing technologies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Following the development of large-scale use of biomass energy in the EU, international biofuel trade is a plausible scenario and something that is already taking place in Northern Europe. This paper focuses on Swedish biofuel imports, both direct and indirect imports, the latter which derive from the fact that part of the imported pulpwood and timber end up as fuel. The objective is to describe the biomass import flows, the actors involved and analyse the fundamental drivers for the trade flows.The rapid expansion of biomass energy, that has taken place in district heating since the early 1990s in Sweden, has been met partly by imports. The direct biofuel import was estimated to 18 PJ for 2000, which corresponded to 26% of the biofuel supply in district heating. The total indirect biofuel import was estimated to 9 PJ of which 5.5 PJ is consumed in the district heating sector. Sawmill wood chips, decay-damaged stemwood and pellets are imported from Estonia and Latvia, whereas used wood and solid recovered fuels are imported from Germany and the Netherlands. Tall oil and pellets are imported from North America.Key factors related to the Swedish biofuel import are analysed, both from the view of Swedish demand and from the view of supply in the Baltic countries as well as supply from Germany or the Netherlands. National differences in energy policy are perhaps the most important driving force behind the seemingly strange trade flows. Structures in the different national energy systems are also discussed as well as the transformation process that has taken place in the forest sector in the Baltic countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The emission of fine particles (FP) generated by biomass combustion poses a substantial health risk. The immediate emissions from biomass boilers are mainly influenced by the operating parameters. The authors of this article present the results of an experimental identification of the real FP emissions from small biomass boilers and residential stoves in Central Europe. A single method was used in the study to measure the FP emissions from an automatic boiler burning spruce pellets and from a manual stove burning beech logs. The measurement is extended by a thermo-gravimetric analysis of samples of the fuels used, supplemented with an analysis of the emitted particles. The boilers were tested in an operating cycle that included the phases of fuel ignition, steady combustion, and afterburning. The paper presents the concentrations and size distributions observed of the emitted FP ranging from 17 to 544 nm in size. Operating cycles including a "cold start" and "warm start" are compared. The results achieved are summarized by the expression of the nominal FP emission presenting the number and mass emission corresponding to burning 1 kg of fuel. The tested automatic boiler fed by spruce pellets produced a nominal FP emission of 173 mg kg−1 in the size range of 17–544 nm during the testing operation cycle. The tested manual stove, fed by beech logs, produced a nominal emission of 1043 mg kg−1 in the same size range of particles during the similar testing cycle. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biogas is expected to contribute 10% of the total renewable energy use in Europe in 2030. This expectation largely depends on the use of several biomass byproducts and wastes as feedstocks. However, the current development of a biobased economy requires biomass sources for multiple purposes. If alternative applications also use biogas feedstocks, it becomes doubtful whether they will be available for biogas production. To explore this issue, this paper aims to provide an overview of potential alternative uses of different biogas feedstocks being researched in literature. We conducted a literature review using the machine learning technique "co-occurrence analysis of terms". This technique reads thousands of abstracts from literature and records when pairs of biogas feedstock-application are co-mentioned. These pairs are assumed to represent the use of a feedstock for an application. We reviewed 109 biogas feedstocks and 217 biomass applications, revealing 1053 connections between them in nearly 55,000 scientific articles. Our results provide two insights. First, a large share of the biomass streams presently considered in the biogas estimates have many alternative uses, which likely limit their contribution to future biogas production. Second, there are streams not being considered in present estimates for biogas production although they have the proper characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silphium perfoliatum L. (Silphium) is one of the most promising perennial herbaceous plants, mainly due to its high biomass yield and multiple uses. It can be grown as a fodder, ornamentally, for energy (mainly as a biogas source), and as a honey crop (source of nectar and pollen for pollinators). Despite the considerable qualities of this crop, the Silphium cultivation area in Europe is small. The main limiting factors are the significant costs of plantation establishment and the lack of biomass yield in the first year of cultivation. Considering these aspects, research was undertaken at the Agricultural Experimental Station Lipnik of West Pomeranian University of Technology Szczecin, to assess two methods of establishing a plantation: generative, by sowing seeds (seeds); and vegetative, by transplanting seedlings grown from seeds (planting), on the yield and quality of Silphium biomass attended for combustion and its heating value and chemical composition. In 2016–2019, annual aboveground biomass was harvested after the end of vegetation to obtain the raw material for combustion. The collected dry mass yield (DMY) of Silphium significantly differed between the years and methods of establishing the plantation. The biomass yields increased in the first two years of full vegetation from 9.3 to 18.1 Mg∙ha−1·yr−1, and then decreased in the third year of vegetation to ca. 13 Mg∙ha−1·yr−1 because of drought. Significantly higher DMY was obtained by sowing seeds (ca. 13.9 Mg∙ha−1·yr−1) compared to the planting method (ca. 13.0 Mg∙ha−1·yr−1), due to the higher plant density obtained after the sowing method compared to the planting method. The calorific value in the third year was the highest and amounted to ca. 17.8 MJ·kg−1 DM. The paper also presents changes in soil chemical properties before and after four years of Silphium cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The annual potential of waste biomass production from food processing in Europe is 16.9 million tonnes. Unfortunately, most of these organic wastes are utilized without the energy gain, mainly due to the high moisture content and the ability to the fast rotting and decomposition. One of the options to increase its value in terms of energy applications is to valorize its properties. Torrefaction process is one of the pre-treatment technology of raw biomass that increases the quality of the fuel, especially in the context of resistance to moisture absorption. However, little is known about the influence of torrefaction temperature on the degree of valorization of some specific waste biomass. The aim of this paper was to analyze the influence of the temperature of the torrefaction on the hydrophobic properties of waste biomass, such as black currant pomace, apple pomace, orange peels, walnut shells, and pumpkin seeds. The torrefaction process was carried out at temperatures of 200 °C, 220 °C, 240 °C, 260 °C, 280 °C, and 300 °C. The hydrophobic properties were analyzed using the water drop penetration time (WDPT) test. The torrefied waste biomass was compared with the raw material dried at 105 °C. The obtained results revealed that subjecting the biomass to the torrefaction process improved its hydrophobic properties. Biomass samples changed their hydrophobic properties from hydrophilic to extremely hydrophobic depending on the temperature of the process. Apple pomace was the most hydrophilic sample; its water drop penetration was under 60 s. Black currant and apple pomaces reached extremely hydrophobic properties at a temperature of 300 °C, only. In the case of orange peels, walnut shells, and pumpkin seeds, already at the temperature of 220 °C, the samples were characterized by severely hydrophobic properties with a penetration time over 1000 s. At the temperature of 260 °C, orange peels, walnut shells, and pumpkin seeds reached extremely hydrophobic properties. Furthermore, in most cases, the increase of torrefaction temperature improved the resistance to moisture absorption, which is probably related to the removal of hydroxyl groups and structural changes occurring during this thermal process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]