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Industry and researchers call for action to tackle climate impact of organic, carbon-based chemicals

Aug 30, 2024

4 min

Patricia Thornley
  • Call led by members of Supergen Bioenergy Hub, based at Aston University
  • They highlight that carbon-based chemicals cannot be decarbonised but can be defossilised
  • They want a transition to renewable carbon sources such as biomass, recycled carbon, and carbon dioxide.


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Director of Supergen Bioenergy Hub, Professor Patricia Thornley


Industry experts and university researchers have joined together to ask the government to address the climate impact of organic, carbon-based chemicals.


While demand for fossil fuels as energy is expected to fall in the coming decades, the

petrochemicals sector is set to grow significantly according to experts and is set out in a 2018 report by the International Energy Agency.


Members of the Supergen Bioenergy Hub which is based at Aston University and the Biomass Biorefinery Network believe the issue has yet to receive proper attention and is calling for a strategy that addresses this key component of our greenhouse gas emissions. They want a move to a more circular economy, managing supply and demand levels and transitioning away from fossil feedstocks which are raw materials required for some industrial processes.


In their paper Carbon for chemicals How can biomass contribute to the defossilisation of the chemicals sector? they highlight that carbon-based chemicals cannot be decarbonised but can be defossilised through a transition to renewable carbon sources such as biomass, recycled carbon and carbon dioxide.


Many products in modern society contain carbon such as pharmaceuticals, plastics, textiles, food additives, cosmetics, and cleaning products. These chemicals are derived from fossil feedstocks, so they are classed as petrochemicals. As a result, they contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Carbon is embedded in organic chemical products and released when they break down at end-of-life, for example through incineration.


To address the emissions from carbon in chemicals and accelerate the development of bio-based chemicals, the group want a cross-party consensus to support a sustainable chemical system.


Director of Supergen Bioenergy Hub, Professor Patricia Thornley, said: “We need to consider the UK’s future feedstock and chemicals production and use, and how it relates to net zero, agriculture, environment, economy, trade, and just transition policy objectives. There are opportunities here for the UK to lead the way on sustainable chemical production, but we need to carefully plan a roadmap for the transition, that delivers opportunities around jobs and the economy as well as sustainable greenhouse gas reductions.


“There is a definite role for biomass here. But it is essential that any future use of biomass in the chemicals sector is underpinned by rigorous, trusted, and enforceable sustainability governance to build confidence, deliver sustainability benefits, and minimise negative impacts. That requires improvements in sustainability governance and regulation.


“We think there are real economic and trade opportunities by the UK accelerating sustainable chemicals. At the moment bio-based chemicals, and chemicals derived from other renewable carbon sources, are not being expanded in the UK because there are no explicit incentives that prioritise them over fossil-based production.”


The group argues that the UK has significant academic and industrial research expertise to underpin the development of sustainable bio-based products and could be a global leader in bio-based products and sustainability governance. They believe that to date little of this has manifested as UK-based scale-up and manufacturing, whilst there are numerous examples of UK-led research being scaled up elsewhere. The paper was delivered at a webinar on 7 August.


Notes to Editors


Carbon for chemicals How can biomass contribute to the defossilisation of the chemicals sector? https://www.supergen-bioenergy.net/output/carbon-for-chemicals-how-can-biomass-contribute-to-the-defossilisation-of-the-chemicals-sector-policy-briefing/



Author: Joanna Sparks (formerly Aston University)

With contributions from:

Cristiane Scaldaferri (formerly Aston University),

Andrew Welfle (University of Manchester),

Patricia Thornley (Aston University),

Ashley Victoria (University of Leeds),

Caspar Donnison (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory),

Jason Hallett (Imperial College London),

Nilay Shah (Imperial College London),

Mirjam Rӧder (Aston University),

Paul Mines (Biome Bioplastics),

David Bott (Society of Chemical Industry),

Adrian Higson (NNFCC),

Neil Bruce (University of York)


2018 International Energy Agency report https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-petrochemicals


https://www.supergen-bioenergy.net/

The Supergen Bioenergy Hub works with academia, industry, government, and societal stakeholders to develop sustainable bioenergy systems that support the UK’s transition to an affordable, resilient, low-carbon energy future. The Hub is funded jointly by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) under grant EP/Y016300/1 and is part of the wider Supergen Programme.


www.bbnet-nibb.co.uk

The Biomass Biorefinery Network (BBNet), a phase II Network in Industrial Biotechnology & Bioenergy funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC-NIBB) under grant BB/S009779/1. The aim of the Biomass Biorefinery Network is to act as a focal point to build and sustain a dynamic community of industrial and academic practitioners who work together to develop new and improved processes for the conversion of non-food biomass into sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials.


About Aston University

For over a century, Aston University’s enduring purpose has been to make our world a better place through education, research and innovation, by enabling our students to succeed in work and life, and by supporting our communities to thrive economically, socially and culturally.

Aston University’s history has been intertwined with the history of Birmingham, a remarkable city that once was the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.

Born out of the First Industrial Revolution, Aston University has a proud and distinct heritage dating back to our formation as the School of Metallurgy in 1875, the first UK College of Technology in 1951, gaining university status by Royal Charter in 1966, and becoming the Guardian University of the Year in 2020.

Building on our outstanding past, we are now defining our place and role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world.

For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Nicola Jones, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44) 7825 342091 or email: n.jones6@aston.ac.uk



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Patricia Thornley

Patricia Thornley

Professor and Chief Scientific Adviser

Patricia works in sustainable fuels - improving the environmental impact of transport and energy systems.

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