New Tool to Forecast Availability of Agricultural Biomass
Stackyard - Biomass is quickly becoming a sought-after resource as an alternative to fossil fuels, chemicals and energy in the bioeconomy.
Having recognised the potential of agricultural and forestry waste for commercial use, the Rehap project has recently developed a unique tool that can forecast their future availability.
In recent years, a diverse range of businesses have been turning to more environmentally conscious options for their products. From using green alternatives instead of chemicals to ensuring products are renewable, businesses are under pressure by government, consumers, competitors, social media and national news to change how they think about and act on the environment.
Because of this urgency, the bioeconomy is being stretched to cater for the abundance of alternative green options that are being developed, and biomass is a vital participant in making them successful.
To ensure this demand is met with supply, the EU-funded project Rehap has recently developed an innovative tool at a time when questions are beginning to be asked about the availability of sustainable biomass in Europe.
Rehap partners at the University of Ausgburg used the project’s own analysis of the current availability of agroforestry waste in Europe to create a tool that can forecast on a regional basis the future availability of lignocellulosic feedstock (a natural building block substitute for petrochemicals) from agricultural residues in Europe. The aim is to enable future enterprises to securely produce sustainable bio-products from high quality renewables.