The Bioeconomy: new products, low carbon processes and policy

Description of impact

A sustainable bioeconomy requires conversion of biological resources (including agri-forestry residues) into a range of products including materials, chemicals, fuel and energy. Our research led to effective pre-treatment and extraction processes for lignocellulosic biomass to access fibres and speciality chemicals for different industrial applications. As a result Waitrose Ltd. launched sustainable grass-fibre egg packaging (2015) and a new spin-out company was established to isolate speciality chemicals (2016). Collaboration through a £32 million, pan-Wales bioeconomy programme (BEACON: 2010-) resulted in 300 SME interactions and these activities are being used to inform the UK Government’s Bioeconomy Strategy (2018-2030) with regards to best practice in innovation support for industry.

Description of the underpinning research

2. Underpinning research (indicative maximum 500 words)
In 2008, Bangor University’s BioComposites Centre commissioned an independent feasibility study to evaluate the potential to grow a sustainable bioeconomy in Wales [3.1]. Wales has a strong relevant science and technology base for underpinning the development of the necessary supply chains and provision of innovation support to industry through collaboration. To drive this, investment in flexible, pilot scale equipment to facilitate upscaling of biomass valorisation processes was critical, in order to provide industry support for innovation. This approach has guided our bioeconomy research and technology development since 2008 [3.2]. Consolidation of existing Welsh bioeconomy research expertise has been achieved through BEACON (A Biorefining Centre of Excellence for Wales), an award-winning partnership [5.8] between Aberystwyth, Bangor and Swansea Universities, established in 2010 with support from Welsh Government.
One of the key technical challenges in utilising agri-forestry residues is development of robust pre-treatment methodologies for these recalcitrant feedstocks, in order to facilitate separation of soluble (hemicellulose) and non-soluble (cellulose) fibres and lignin. Development of scalable extraction processes for higher value molecules (e.g. carotenoids, phenolics and fatty acids) for applications in the speciality chemical sector, as part of a value chain of products, is also vital from a commercial perspective.
Research at the BioComposites Centre has developed a range of approaches to pre-treat biomass including the use of thermo-mechanical, biological and supercritical fluid processing. These methods are applicable across a variety of feedstocks, including straws and grasses, forestry residues and oilseed crops (2010-). Thermo-mechanical pre-treatment at low pressure (8-10 bar) facilitates access to fermentable monosaccharides for downstream fermentation [3.7]. White-rot fungi which produce lignin-degrading enzymes have been used to successfully pre-treat miscanthus and other agri-residues including straw and, in combination with thermo-mechanical processing, resulted in significant delignification [3.3, 3.5]. White-rot fungi were also successfully inoculated onto different species of softwoods, resulting in successful colonisation after a period of incubation, providing an insight into the link between the compositional characteristics of each wood type and the ease of degradation [3.4]. Mechanical pre-treatment has been used to successfully process ryegrass and other agricultural residues for conversion into fibre- based packaging for fruit, vegetables and eggs, using a combination of pulp moulding and thermoforming (2013-2014). These moulded pulp products have the potential to replace current, single-use plastic substrates, manufactured from fossil fuels and research conducted at Bangor, through a partnership with Waitrose Ltd., led to the commercial launch of new packaging (2015). THE CO2 LAB was established (2013) to provide a platform for supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) research and to develop pre-treatment approaches and scalable extraction processes to isolate valuable components from different biomass types [5.5]. The flexibility of operation and scale of the equipment are unique in Europe and offer companies the collaborative opportunities from proof of concept (gram scale), pilot (kilogram) scale and ultimately commercial scale. Novel research was conducted at pilot scale, including life-cycle assessment and energy monitoring, which was used to determine the viability of process upscaling. SC-CO2 research at Bangor (2011-2016) resulted in collaborations with over 50 companies from the UK, Europe and other world regions. Pilot scale pre-treatment and extraction processes for a range of biomass were developed, including:
• Novel lipids from seed oils for cosmetic applications [3.6]
• Antioxidants from herbs and spices for food and beverage use [5.5]
• Polyunsaturated fatty chains from marine biomass for use as dietary supplements [5.5]

Beneficiaries and reach of impact

4. Details of the impact (indicative maximum 750 words). Grass fibre packaging: In collaboration with Waitrose Ltd (2013-2014), a process for pre-treating ryegrass and converting the fibre fraction into new moulded pulp packaging for eggs was developed at Bangor [5.1a.] This led to the launch of a new range of egg packaging in October 2015 [5.1b] by Waitrose (Duchy Originals range) with the following benefits: • Use of a 50:50 mixture of rye grass and recycled paper as a more sustainable feedstock for packaging materials, saving 77 tonnes of wood and recycled paper annually • Production requires 60% less water and produces 10% less CO2 than conventional packaging materials • Products are 100% recyclable and can be recycled with newspapers and cardboard For the period October-December 2015 following the launch, total sales for these new egg-boxes across Waitrose stores in the UK were 195,000 units. Waitrose continues to expand its range of grass based packaging, launching eight new products in 2018 for its British Blacktail eggs range [5.1c]. Waitrose highlighted an important outcome from the collaboration as a vehicle for "Open Science" - engaging customers and members of the public in the issues and development of the new packaging [5.1d]. Following the research conducted at Bangor and successful launch of the grass packaging, Waitrose has continued to diversify and expand its range of sustainable packaging produced from agricultural fibres. This has included packaging for its Duchy Organic cherry tomatoes and baby plum tomatoes, launched in 2018 and manufactured from tomato vines [5.1e]. Bangor University, through its programme of bioeconomy research including sustainable packaging, has been recognised by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and is now a member of the Network Universities programme, a global group of 25 institutions showcasing circular economy research worldwide [5.2]. This has led to Bangor University signing The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, which unites over 350 organisations behind a common vision and targets, to address plastic waste and pollution at its source [5.3a]. This also informed Bangor University’s Strategy on Sustainability, which is ranked eighth in the world for its commitment in this area [5.3b]. Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) research: Investment in laboratory and pilot scale processing and extraction equipment, utilising supercritical carbon dioxide technology, enabled Bangor University to launch The CO2 LAB in 2013 [5.4]. From 2011-2016, SC-CO2 research at Bangor resulted in collaborations with over 50 companies across the UK and Europe. [5.5]. The CO2 LAB was a shortlisted finalist in the 2014 S-lab awards and one of six entrants in the ‘New Product’ category [5.6]. Launched in 2012, The S-Lab Awards for Excellence is an international programme which recognises innovation in laboratory design, management and operation. In 2016, following the success of The CO2 LAB, a new spin-out company, Suprex Ltd was launched [5.7], which is a joint venture between Bangor University and Phytovation Ltd, a global supplier of standardised Senna for use as a laxative. Suprex specialises in the development of SC-CO2 applications and carries out contract research at laboratory, pilot and commercial scale The company has an annual turnover of approx. £180,000, employs five staff and undertakes research for major multinational companies interested in the development of biobased extractives in the food, nutraceutical, cosmetics and pharma sectors [5.5]. Collaborations between Suprex and two global companies have led to development of an automated supercritical CO2 extraction rig to carry out experiments aimed at advance the development of new personal care products (Unilever Ltd), and installation of a production plant at a UK site near Widnes, to manufacture functional food ingredients (Croda Ltd) [5.5]. Regional bioeconomy initiatives (Wales and the UK): Bangor University has been a core partner in BEACON, a £32 million, pan-Wales bioeconomy initiative (2010-date), supported by Welsh Government. During this period, BEACON has interacted with over 300 companies, across 15 sectors. More than fifty new jobs have been created across Aberystwyth, Bangor and Swansea Universities and within companies BEACON has collaborated with (e.g. Pennotec Ltd, Pwlheli [5.8]). Two new companies, including Suprex Ltd have been established and an additional £13 million additional R&D funding secured across the three university partners through industrial collaboration. In recognition of the collaborative work and good practices in regional development undertaken through BEACON, the project won the prestigious RegioStars Award for “Sustainable Growth” Green growth and jobs through Bio-economy” (2014), organised by the European Commission [9a, 9b]. In order to provide a collaborative focus for UK bioeoconomy research, BioPilots UK (BPUK), a national alliance of the main open access industry facing biorefining centres, operating at technology readiness technology 4+ was launched in 2016 [5.10]. Consisting of four regionally important centres across the UK, BEACON was a founding member of BPUK and the alliance is de-risking the innovation process for SMEs, through provision of business support activities and access to the pilot scale equipment at each of the partner sites. UK Government Bioeconomy Policy BEACON, through BioPilotsUK is cited in the UK Government’s bioeconomy strategy (2018-2030), as being a key asset that will be used to deliver growth in this sector, which is worth £220 billion and supports 5.2 million jobs in the UK [5.11]. SMEs are viewed as one of the key drivers for innovation in this sector and provision of R&D support to industry by Universities is cited as a one of the most important factors for future growth. The best practice developed by BEACON and BPUK in relation to SME support is now being used to inform and help deliver this strategy, through a series of working groups established in (2019), which Bangor University is supporting. ESRC-IAA funding (2019) has enabled transfer of best practice, developed at Bangor and linked to SME engagement and bioeconomy research, to Africa through strategic partnerships in Uganda. The first output from this is an Innovate UK/ DFID funded project investigating the production of food packaging from waste maize stover.

Impact status	Potential
Impact date	2008