The production of bio-based chemicals with sustainable raw materials and environmental friendliness has become an important way to get rid of energy dependence and move towards bio-economy in the future, which has received high attention from international policy, research and industrial circles.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicts that the share of bio-based chemicals and other industrial products (excluding biopharmaceutical products) in total chemical production is expected to rise to 35% by 2030.
Strategic Deployment, Technological Breakthroughs Global Government Consensus
At present, the development of bio-economy with bio-based chemical production as an important element has become the focus of strategic planning and project deployment in various countries.
For example, the United States, in response to the challenge of import energy dependence, launched an early "biomass multi-year plan" to develop a "renewable fuel standard.
Under the guidance of the European Bioeconomy Strategy, the EU and its member states are committed to promoting the efficient and sustainable use of resources while addressing food and energy needs, maintaining the competitiveness and sustainable development of the EU in the field of biotechnology, developing the flagship programs "Innovative Alliance" and "Efficient Use of Natural Resources", strengthening investment in research and development and market development of bio-based products, and jointly investing heavily in the development of bio-based industries with business partners to actively promote the transformation and upgrading of the EU bioeconomy.
Germany and Spain have also released their national bio-economy strategies in recent years, considering the R&D and market development of bio-based products as important development elements.
In recent years, the rapid development of frontier technologies such as synthetic biology and genome editing has expanded the mining and utilization of functional genes from biomass feedstock, enhanced the manipulation of biobased chemical manufacturing processes, and promoted the transition of more and more basic and bulk chemicals, fine and specialty chemicals, drug platform compounds, bioplastics and biomaterials to biobased production modes.
Led by new technologies, bio-based chemical research continues to make breakthroughs.
Using macro-genomic screening and artificial design, personnel at Samsung Advanced Research Institute in Korea have developed a biological pathway that can produce acrylic acid, a raw material for organic synthesis and a synthetic resin monomer.
Stanford University researchers have synthesized 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a precursor to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substitute polyfurandicarboxylic acid (PEF), using carbon dioxide and furfural derived from non-food biomass as feedstock, offering a low-carbon alternative to existing petrochemical plastic production.
UCLA researchers have successfully constructed an extracellular complex enzyme system consisting of more than 20 enzymes to design a biochemical synthesis method for cell-free production of biobased chemicals, paving a new path for efficient and flexible production of plastics, biofuels and new drugs in vitro.
Meanwhile, in order to move closer to a more efficient and advanced sustainable development model and overcome the constraints of raw materials, resources and energy, many well-known companies in the traditional chemical industry have explored the transition from petroleum-based to bio-based, actively welcoming the arrival of the bio-economy era.
It is estimated that the global biochemical industry currently has annual sales of about $40 billion, growing at a rate of about 8% to 10% per year.
