USDA spearheads circular economy initiative to boost biomass markets

18 Mar 2024 --- The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to enhance the resilience of biomass supply chains for domestic bio-based manufacturing, which includes personal and home care products. The initiative seeks to bolster environmental sustainability while creating new market opportunities for small and mid-sized producers.

At the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Council meeting in Washington, DC, Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack said: “The increasing demand for biomass is a golden opportunity to expand markets and create new revenue for American farmers, ranchers and forest landowners, particularly in rural areas.”

“We are proud to support President Biden’s commitment to advance America’s domestic bioeconomy and ultimately create new markets and jobs. This comprehensive roadmap will strengthen our production and preprocessing systems to provide incentives for producers and manufacturers so that biomass can be used to fuel the American bioeconomy.”

The report “Building a Resilient Biomass Supply: A Plan to Enable the Bioeconomy in America” identifies crop residues, food and agricultural wastes, forest residues and livestock as biomass sources. The USDA recognizes its potential as a raw material for renewable fuel, fibers, electricity, building supplies, plastics and personal hygiene products.

Biomass riches
According to the report, biomass feedstocks in personal care and cosmetics products, such as vitamins, polyphenols and phytochemicals, include fermentable starch, guar gum, beeswax, vegetable oils, lanolin, beets, herbs, wood biomass and algae.The report finds that “US biomass supplies are abundant,” but there are gaps in knowledge of current and projected biomass feedstock and much to learn about competing biomass markets.

Additionally, fermentable sugars and wood extractives biomass feedstocks can provide enzymes used in detergents.

The US economy benefited US$489 billion from bio-based products in 2021 — a more than 5% increase from US$464 billion in 2020 — according to a report released by the USDA’s BioPreferred Program, showing a stable growth trajectory.

Boosting circular economies
The USDA’s plan emphasizes fostering a circular bioeconomy — to address climate change and the loss of natural resources while promoting rural communities’ economic growth through the environmentally sustainable use of agricultural resources.

The proposed actions are intended to optimize the logistics of the biomass supply chain, utilize woody biomass residuals and encourage farmers to cultivate biomass crops while minimizing risks.

Personal Care Insights recently explored the impact of circular economy principles on the cosmetics industry with Givaudan and looked into a case study on upcycling prickly pear pomace.

“Strengthening R&D, capacity building and biomass market development will help bolster existing markets and catalyze new markets,” says Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, USDA chief scientist and undersecretary for Research, Education and Economics.A government-wide plan to develop the US bioeconomy to promote economic development, equity, and community resilience is outlined in President Biden’s Executive Order 14081.

Implementation plans
The report plan is accompanied by an Implementation Framework detailing the steps the USDA will take over the following year to increase biomass availability, make investments in the infrastructure needed to produce bio-based products and promote the development of a sustainable biomass supply chain. Collaboration between the US government, the private sector and foreign counterparts will be necessary to carry out the actions in this plan, says the USDA.

In addition to the plan, the USDA released a fact sheet detailing its 2023 bioeconomy achievements, which include US$772 million in investments for R&D and infrastructure related to biofuels, fertilizer production, crop innovations and bio-based products.

For the US, biomass is seen as a “golden opportunity” for expanding its markets and creating new revenue sources for farmers, ranchers and forest landowners. “Recognizing this, the White House issued Executive Order 14081 requiring the USDA to lead the development of a plan to support the resilience of the domestic biomass supply chain,” outlines the report.

“The plan calls for three broad areas of activity: R&D and demonstration for innovation in newly emerging biomass supply systems, capacity building to expand existing biomass supply systems and market development and assessment to match biomass supply to demand for bio-based products.”

The report finds that “US biomass supplies are abundant,” but there are gaps in knowledge of current and projected biomass feedstock and much to learn about competing biomass markets. It also concludes that woody biomass can supply a significant amount of the required biomass, oilseed crops can increase biomass availability, and biomass crops must be scaled up to replace non-renewable sources.

By Venya Patel

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