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Description
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Circular Bioeconomy (CBE) represents a strategic paradigm geared towards diminishing dependence on finite natural resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Its primary objectives include transforming fossil-based manufacturing processes and promoting sustainable production by utilizing renewable resources, such as land, fisheries, and aquaculture. An important aspect of CBE is the cascading use of biomass, which aims to minimize waste generation and ensure the secure disposal of residual biomass into the soil as carbon. The sustainability of CBE is intricately linked to the carbon cycle, wherein the carbon emitted during the production and utilization of renewable resources must be surpassed by the amount sequestered or captured in the soil, leading to a net reduction in carbon emissions, aligning with the European Union’s target to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. From an environmental impact perspective, the transition from a fossil to a bio-based economy has trade-offs. For instance, using forest biomass for energy necessitates a comprehensive understanding of specific regions' potential environmental, social, and economic implications.
The BIOTRANSFORM project aims to identify optimal transition pathways for biomass as a substitute for fossil-based materials across diverse pilot regions (Andalusia (Spain), North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), Charles Spa (Czech Republic) Macedonia (Greece), Northen Burgenland (Austria) and Finland). In the initial phase, the regional limitations have been found by doing in-depth research and interviewing the stakeholders from various sectors (local policy, research organization, industry. etc.).
In the second phase the project employs a robust assessment framework integrating three independent tools to identify the regional transition pathways. The three tools are:
1.Resource Flow Analysis Tool (RFA): provided by Alchemia-Nova (ALCN), systematically examines regional resource flows and their circularity.
2.Logistic Optimization Tool (MooV): developed by Flemish institute for technical research (VITO), optimizes various logistical aspects of the bioeconomy, considering factors such as money, time, and cost.
3. Impact Assessment Tool (IAT): developed by Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) evaluates the overall impacts of a consumption-based scenarios on society, the environment, and the economy.
RFA and MooV are utilized to find the transition pathways for specific biomass in the pilot regions. Subsequently, key performance indicators (KPIs) are estimated for each transition pathways using IAT consisting of sustainability metrics (environmental and socio-economic indicators). For the environmental impacts, sixteen indicators are used based on the consumption footprint developed by the European Commission – Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC) through a full bottom-up model implemented at product scale. The environmental impacts of bio-based production technologies are also compared against conventional fossil-based technologies. The social life cycle assessment (LCA) based indicator is used to assess the socio-economic dimension of sustainability. The optimum transition pathways for the pilot regions are defined based on the regional limitations. Finally, the most suitable bioeconomy scenarios are selected based on indicator values and alignment with regional targets, providing valuable insights for policymakers to make informed decisions.
A preliminary analysis focusing on the straw value chain in one of the study regions (Northen Burgenland, Austria) highlights varying environmental impacts based on specific products, processes, and technologies employed in simulating the transition. It was found that the bio-based approaches need to be tailored to specific contexts and regional challenges to maximize the sustainability benefits by integrating technological innovation into infrastructure design and product use addressing the regional policies. (2025-06-26)
***This entry has been automatically imported via Datacite by LIST harvest scripts. Please refer to https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15745555 for the original and latest version of the dataset and data downloads*** (2025-06-29)
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