Know-How

The biomass from animal waste includes waste from intensive livestock operations, from poultry farms, pig farms, cattle farms and slaughterhouses. Animal wastes represent a vast untapped source of energy and nutrients which can be recycled by the use of bio-conversion processes.

There are a wide range of animal wastes that can be used as sources of biomass energy. In the past, this waste (manure) was recovered and sold as a fertilizer or simply spread onto agricultural fields. The introduction of tighter environmental controls on odor and water pollution is now requiring some form of waste management, which provides further incentives for waste-to-energy conversion.   The most promising method of converting these animal waste materials to a useful product is Anaerobic Digestion. The produced biogas that can be upgrade into biomethane and used as a renewable “green” energy resource for gas grid injection, production of electricity, for heating/cooling or even burnt dir…

Agricultural residues include rice straw, wheat straw, rice husk, and corn stover, which are mostly left on the fields after harvests and used for fodder and landfill material or burnt in many places. Forestry residues consist of branches, leaves, bark, and other portions of wood. Lignocellulosic biomass in general consists of 35% - 55% cellulose, 25% - 40% hemicellulose, and 15%–25% lignin with small percentage of extractive, protein, and ash. Example for use: Field residues such as straw of grain crops and processing residues such as husks, chaff, cobs, or bagasse can be used for biofuel and bioenergy production. Biofuels and bioenergy from residues are generally considered sustainable as they use waste materials from food crop production, and do not compete with food crops for land.

Several wastes and by-products are either used or generated during the production phase of building products. A waste is an output from a process that has not yet reached the end-of-waste state. A by-product is an output that is not a waste, but has low value relative to the product or co-products.

Examples:

Residues from wood and forestry industry Residual forest wood (hardwood), Residual forest wood (softwood), Bark, Slash, Sawmill by-products, Cut-outs, Sawdust, Old wood, Forestry pruning, Black liquor, Tall oil

Agricultural by-products Cereal straw, Hay, Digestates based on animal manure, Digestates based on plants, Winter / Summer catch crops, Residues from vegetable cultivation, Residues from fruit cultivation, Beet residues, Green clippings, Herbaceous biomass, Woody biomass, Silage, Algae, Corn residues, Mushroom waste, Fishery biomas, Buffer strip residues

Residues from food industry Residues from animal processing, Residues from fi…

Bio-based products are wholly or partly derived from materials of biological origin, excluding materials embedded in geological formations and/or fossilized. In industrial processes, enzymes are used in the production of chemical building blocks, detergents, pulp and paper, textiles, etc.

By using fermentation and bio-catalysis instead of traditional chemical synthesis, higher process efficiency can be obtained, resulting in a decrease in energy and water consumption, and a reduction of toxic waste. As they are derived from renewable raw materials such as plants, bio-based products can help reduce CO2 and offer other advantages such as lower toxicity or novel product characteristics (e.g. biodegradable plastic materials).

Examples for Bio-Based Products:

Starch, Sugar, Protein, Oil, Fiber, Lignin, Hemicellulose, Nutrients, Cellulose, Paper, Bio-Based Glycerol, Bio-Based Acids, Bio-Based Hydrocarbons, Bio-Based Solvents, Bio-Based Emulsifier, Bio-Bas…