The ten green chemicals which can create growth, jobs and trade for the UK

Bio-based chemicals – chemicals produced from plants rather than crude oil – represent a dynamic area of innovation in the UK, one that can create growth, trade, investment and jobs.

Resources

Background

Global trends towards sustainability, reduced emissions and landfill avoidance are driving demand for greener products. At the same time, innovators are disrupting the traditional chemicals industry by developing bio-based chemicals which can replace and improve upon oil-based ones.

The UK is already ahead of the game. We have world-leading research in bio-based chemicals in our universities, start-ups and corporate research and development. With the right support, we are perfectly positioned to become a leading global bio-based chemicals player; without it, our research and development will probably be commercialised elsewhere.

To ensure that we lead the way in this industry, the UK needs to focus on what it knows and play to its strengths.

The Top Ten

Through extensive consultation with industry, we have identified ten bio-based chemicals on which the UK could focus resources for maximum impact. These were agreed through multiple workshops with LBNet and other experts representing the chemicals industry, biotech startups, academia, government, biotechnology consultants and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Driven by a real demand for sustainable chemicals, they all present a clear long-term business opportunity for the UK, where there is already a strong foundation, and where we have the business and research infrastructure to develop and commercialise them.

The ten bio-based chemicals were chosen based on:

  • Commercial viability
  • UK strengths to exploit (research to date, skills, feedstock availability, etc.)
  • Functionality
  • Sustainability

Fact Files

n-Butanol 
Used in a wide range of polymers and plastics, as a solvent in a wide variety of chemical and textile processes and as a paint thinner.
Levulinic Acid 
Used in the production of environmentally friendly herbicides, fruity flavour and fragrance ingredients, skin creams and degreasers.
Glucaric Acid 
Why is it of interest?  Glucaric acid is a polyhydroxy dicarboxylic acid which is accessed from the oxidation of glucose.…
1,3-Butanediol 
A building block for many high value products including pheromones, fragrances, insecticides, antibiotics and synthetic rubber.
Itaconic Acid 
Why is it of interest?  Itaconic acid (IA) is a bio-derived platform molecule with a long history, first being synthesised…
Muconic Acid 
Derivatives could replace non-sustainable chemicals used in the production of PET and nylon fibres.
Lactic Acid 
Used to make PolyLactic Acid (PLA), which can form biodegradable plastics.
FDCA 
Can be used to make polymers such as PEF, a stronger alternative to PET, which is a fibre used to make plastic bottles, food packaging and carpets.
LGO 
A safer alternative to harmful solvents used in pharmaceutical manufacturing, and also used in flavours and fragrances.
HMF 
A versatile chemical with potential to replace chemicals used in plastics and polyesters, and for producing high energy biofuel.

How We Can Get There

Focus

This list should be seen as the starting point for focusing resources on exploiting value from these specific chemicals. Investing in these areas will lead to direct short-term advantage, whilst creating the infrastructure and networks to allow other early stage chemicals to develop successfully.

Increased support for academic-business collaborations

Good partnerships between SMEs and universities are developing in the UK’s bio-based sector and these are critical in moving chemicals from the lab into manufacturing processes. Existing networks should continue to be supported by government, industry and academia.

Support UK science capability

Research funding focused on developing cost-effective ways to produce these chemicals and their derivatives, and on ways to scale them up to commercial products, will underpin viable commercial models.

Build UK scale up and testing capabilities

UK companies need technology testing and scale up services, as well as open access piloting and demonstration facilities. Technology advances in feedstock pre-treatment and the supply of low-cost renewable sugars will also be important enablers for the development of bio-based chemicals.

Incentivise use of bio-based materials

Policy support should incentivise the development and use of bio-based chemicals to accelerate market uptake. For example, policy could incentivise use of degradable materials or consumer plastic applications.

WHO WE ARE

The Lignocellulosic Biorefinery Network (LBNet) is a government-funded body tasked with fostering cross-disciplinary communities in the industrial biotechnology sector. It is an active community of industrial practitioners and leading academics generating economic value by developing novel chemicals, materials and fuels that use lignocellulosic biomass as an alternative to petroleum-derived inputs.
LBNet is one of 13 collaborative Networks in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy set up by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to boost interaction between academia and industry, and promote the translation of that research into benefits for the UK.

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