About the theme

Bioeconomy: the science of the future in the present

The Bioeconomy is an industrial production model based on the use of biological resources. The goal is to offer solutions for the sustainability of production systems with the aim of replacing non-renewable fossil resources. In Brazil, the term is new, but the science is not. In fact, the bioeconomy has already been a reality in the country since the 1970s, when the National Ethanol Program (Proálcool) was created. Thanks to this initiative, which appeared at the time to face the world oil crisis, Brazil today is the world's second largest producer of ethanol and top world exporter.

The main difference of the current bioeconomy in comparison with the past is the intensive use of new scientific and technological knowledge, generated from cutting-edge areas like industrial biotechnology, genomics, synthetic biology, bioinformatics, chemistry of renewables, robotics, information technology, nanotechnology, among others. It is worth noting that the bioeconomy's potential is not restricted to bioenergy production.

Thus, the bioeconomy also involves the production of biodegradable plastics, biopolymers, biopesticides, pigments, functional and biofortified foods, medicine, fragrances and cosmetics.  With advances in synthetic biology and the enormous Brazilian natural wealth, the trend is that new biopharmaceutics, bioinputs and bioproducts increasingly arise.

In a megabiodiverse country like Brazil, home to the largest flora and fauna biodiversity of the planet - with over 100,000 animal and about 45,000 plant species that are known - it is pressing to invest in an economic model based on the sustainable use of natural resources. When well characterized and rationally explored, such resources can effectively contribute to leveraging the national bioeconomy.

Bioeconomy trends in Brazil and the world

According to data by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCDE), the bioeconomy moves about 2 trillions euros in the world market and generates about 22 million jobs. Moreover, the sector's activities are in the core of at least half of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ranging from food security to ensuring access to energy and health.

Another aspect to be underscored is the capacity to integrate agriculture and industry, making them part of the same process in economic development. In Brazil, the bioeconomy has real potential to use and improve the multifunctionality of agriculture in favor of the production of food, fiber, and energy, the provision of environmental and ecosystem services, green chemistry and new inputs. The trend is to find innovative and sustainable solutions that simultaneously ensure biodiversity and environmental protection.

In addition, the bioenergy, agriculture and biotechnology capability makes Brazil one of the protagonists in the world's bioeconomy stage. One of the strongest trends in the country today is the use of whole or residual biomass as a raw material for the development of several bioproducts with potential for different sectors of the economy. The expectation is to reduce reliance on resources from fossil sources and the impact on biodiversity and the environment.

Innovative bioeconomy solutions, especially those stemming from the use of industrial biotechnology, provide a vital contribution in the transition from current unsustainable economic practices to renewable industrial systems - the circular and the biologically-based economies - combining innovation and sustainability to solve the main global challenges.

The bioeconomy at Embrapa

The strategic and competitive insertion of the Brazilian Bioeconomy in the world context is one of the axes of impact of Embrapa's 6th Master Plan.

The bioeconomy is a subject of central importance in the world that increasingly seeks sustainable development in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It brings agriculture closer to the industry, with opportunities in bioinputs, bioprocesses and bioproducts, based on agricultural activities or the sustainable use of biodiversity.

The bioeconomy and Embrapa's Project Portfolios

Research, Development and Innovation in bioeconomy at Embrapa are in the scopes of the portfolios of projects and challenges for Innovation below:

 

Advanced Biotechnology Applied to Agribusiness

  • To maximize the development of sugar cane, maize and eucalyptus for the adoption of IPBTs (Innovative Precision Breeding Techniques) and genetically modified microrganismos to supply new bioproducts in biorefineries.
  • To facilitate the establishment of plant, animal and microorganisms biofactories to produce biopharmaceuticals, bioplastics, cosmetics and building blocks, for biotechnological techniques

Biological Inputs

  • To expand the conservationist biological control of pests, diseases and plant nematodes in the grain, vegetable, and fruit production systems and in organic agriculture
  • To replace synthetic inputs for biological assets, in order to overcome the limitations to produce the main commodities (soybeans, maize, wheat, cotton, sugar, citrus, coffee, cellulose, pork, chicken and beef)
  • To replace or reduce the use of fertilizers from non-renewable sources for biologically-based inputs in the beans, cowpeas, soybeans, maize, cotton, pastures and sugarcane crops

Nanotechnology

  • To optimize nanomaterials for the food industry; materials, post-harvest and packaging for the reuse of agricultural, agro-industrial and forest waste
  • To optimize yield in agriculture and provide alternative sources of fertilizers using nanotechnology

Energy, Chemistry and Biomass Technology

  • To expand the generation of renewable energy for the reuse of sorghum, elephant grass and sugarcane agroindustrial waste and of swine, bovine manure and poultry litter via anaerobic digestion processes
  • To broaden the use of plant biomass to produce renewable and/or biodegradable plastics and materials
  • To broaden the use of renewable raw materials available in the South, North, Northeast and Midwest regions of Brazil for fuel and energy production 
  • To provide for new products and clean energy from the processing of soybean and maize grains and of waste from the sugar, alcohol, paper and cellulose industries
  • To provide for new products and clean energy from the processing of soybean and maize grains and of waste from the sugar, alcohol, paper and cellulose industries
  • To provide for the use of renewable sources in the production of agricultural spray adjuvants and of solvents for industrial purposes
  • To provide for agro-industrial processes that expand the production of ethanol and renewable energy from sweet sorghum, maize and sugarcane
  • To provide for economically and environmentally efficient technological routes for the use of lignin in the production pf energy, chemical compounds and renewable materials 

Fibers and Biomass for Industrial Use

  • To expand the participation of other raw materials in the used oil mix for of biodiesel and aviation biokerosene production 
  • To expand the economic viability of the use of sorghum and maize for the production of ethanol, energy and biogas in the Southeastern and Midwest regions of Brazil
  • To intensify biological nitrogen fixation and growth promoter fixation in sugarcane, elephant grass and sorghum crops
  • To enable the production of bioenergy in the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast regions through agro-industrial innovative science-based production systems in elephant grass crops