Biomass carbon mining to develop nature-inspired materials for a circular economy

Anna Bachs-Herrera; Daniel York; Tristan Stephens-Jones; Ian Mabbett; Jingjie Yeo; Francisco J Martin-Martinez

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106549

Biomass carbon mining to develop nature-inspired materials for a circular economy

iScience. 2023 Mar 31;26(4):106549. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106549. eCollection 2023 Apr 21.

Authors

Anna Bachs-Herrera¹, Daniel York¹, Tristan Stephens-Jones¹, Ian Mabbett¹, Jingjie Yeo², Francisco J Martin-Martinez¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
² Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.

Abstract

A transition from a linear to a circular economy is the only alternative to reduce current pressures in natural resources. Our society must redefine our material sources, rethink our supply chains, improve our waste management, and redesign materials and products. Valorizing extensively available biomass wastes, as new carbon mines, and developing biobased materials that mimic nature's efficiency and wasteless procedures are the most promising avenues to achieve technical solutions for the global challenges ahead. Advances in materials processing, and characterization, as well as the rise of artificial intelligence, and machine learning, are supporting this transition to a new materials' mining. Location, cultural, and social aspects are also factors to consider. This perspective discusses new alternatives for carbon mining in biomass wastes, the valorization of biomass using available processing techniques, and the implementation of computational modeling, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to accelerate material's development and process engineering.

Keywords: Biomass; Biotechnology; Energy resources; Materials science.

Publication types

Review