20161006 sustainable sourcing of biomass for bio-based materials - cepe conference

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Sustainable sourcing of biomass for bio-based materials and determination of bio-based content of products

Jarno Dakhorst | NEN

CEPE Annual Conference 2016 | Lisbon, Portugal | 6 October 2016

About NEN

2 CEPE Annual Conference 2016 | Lisbon, Portugal | 6 October 2016

Characteristics of bio-based products

Bio-based products are characterised by several aspects:


Sustainability of biomass

Bio-based content Life-cycle analysis

Toxicity

Biodegradability

Marine biodegradability

… and many more

Context sustainability

• Use of biomass: from green

revolution to hot issue, e.g.:

― “Food vs fuel” / competition

― Deforestation / (indirect) land use change

• Need to address sustainability criteria for biomass:

― Legal framework for biofuels and bioliquids for energy

applications => Renewable Energy Directive

― Voluntary framework for solid and gaseous biomass for energy

applications => Recommendations from EC

― Unknown framework for bio-based products yet =>

Standardization request from EC; not known if standards will be

linked to legislation


Sustainability

• Sustainable development is defined as “development

which meets the needs of current generations without

compromising the ability of future generations to meet

their own needs” [Brundtland definition]

• Concept of sustainable development supports strong

economic and social development, in particular for people with

a low standard of living, and underlines importance of

protecting natural resource base and the environment

• Sustainability involves social, environmental and

economic aspects => People, Planet, Profit (3Ps)


Sustainability themes

• Typical themes [source: Testing framework sustainable biomass]:

― Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:

GHG balance

Carbon stock

― Competition with food and local applications of biomass

― Biodiversity

― Environment:

Soil

Water

Air

― Prosperity

― Social well-being


Supply chain

• Supply chain of bio-based products can be complex


Biomass

production

Fossil raw

material

production v

Mineral raw

material

production v

Primary

production

of bio-

based

product

Process-

ing

Final

production

of bio-

based

product

End

consumer

[Source: EN 16751:2016]

Chain of custody

• Sustainable sourcing of biomass requires traceability


Biomass

production

Fossil raw

material

production v

Mineral raw

material

production v

Primary

production

of bio-

based

product

Process-

ing

Final

production

of bio-

based

product

End

consumer

E.g.

sustainability

and bio-based

content

Many initiatives addressing

sustainability of biomass …


Overcoming trade barriers

… cases based on standards (1)


Standards…

• … are documents with agreements on products, services

and systems

• ... are designed for voluntary use

• ... contribute to:

― international strength of competition

― innovation

― health, safety and environment

― image

• ... are in accordance with WTO

… cases based on standards (2)


Standardization …

• … is an open process => all parties concerned invited

to participate for broad support

• … is developing agreements based on consensus =>

no sustained opposition

• … is transparent => agreements are publicly available

for comments and use

• … takes place on three levels:

― national (e.g. NEN, DIN, IPQ)

― regional (e.g. CEN, GSO)

― international (e.g. ISO, IEC)

EN 16751:2016 (1)


EN 16751:2016 (2)

• This European standard …

― … sets horizontal sustainability criteria applicable to the bio-based part of all bio-based products, excluding food, feed and energy, covering all three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social and economic aspects

― … sets a framework to provide information on management of sustainability aspects

― … cannot be used to make claims that operations or products are sustainable, since it does not establish thresholds or limits

― … can be used for business-to-business communication or for developing product specific standards and certification schemes

NOTE ISO 13065, Sustainability criteria for bioenergy has been used as starting point


NTA 8080:2015 | Better Biomass (1)

CEPE Annual Conference 2016 | Lisbon, Portugal | 6 October 2016 14


• System originates from Testing framework sustainable biomass [developed in 2006-2007 by multi-stakeholder committee]

• NTA 8080-1 describes the requirements for sustainably produced biomass for application in bioenergy (electricity, heating, cooling, and transport fuel) and bio-based products.

• NTA 8080-2 describes the requirements on the chain of custody from biomass production to final application as bioenergy or bio-based products in order to assure the traceability of the origin of the biomass.

• Biomass and products made from biomass can occur in a solid, liquid or gaseous state.



• Applicability of sustainability requirements depends on activities and position in supply chain:


Special “regime” for residual flows

(lower risk)

Most requirements for

biomass producers


• Chain-of-custody requirements apply to entire supply chain

• Mass balance to ensure robust sustainability claims


Context bio-based content

• The bio-based product is normally characterised by the

bio-based content, so important that bio-based content

can be determined

• Standardisation request M/492


EN 16785-1:2015

• EN 16785-1 specifies a method of determining the bio-

based content in products, based on the radiocarbon

analysis and elemental analysis.

• This method is not needed for the determination of the

bio-based content in natural products wholly derived from

biomass.

• EN 16785-1 is applicable to any solid, liquid and gaseous

product containing carbon, provided that a statement is

available about the elemental composition and the bio-

based content of the product(s).


Method of assessment

• Group I product: products obtained by chemical or biological reaction

Group I products shall undergo 14C analysis and elemental analysis. Their declaration shall contain a detailed elemental composition of the bio-based part and the fossil part.

• Group II product: products obtained by mixing Group I products, without chemical or biological reaction

Group II products shall only undergo 14C analysis. Their declaration shall be done by simple calculation of the bio-based content by using data obtained from suppliers, provided that the bio-based content of the constituents (Group I) are analysed according to this method. This simplified declaration takes into account the possible complexity of formulated products.


Roadmap for certification


• Single European bio-based content certification scheme will soon be launched!

• Independent assessment will increase credibility of bio-based content claim of products or product families

Thank you for your attention

www.biobasedcontent.eu


[email protected]

+31 6 3333 4671 or +31 15 2690 245

@jarnodakhorst

https://nl.linkedin.com/in/jarnodakhorst

www.betterbiomass.com

20161006 sustainable sourcing of biomass for bio-based materials - cepe conference

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