> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://4revs.gitbook.io/handbook/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://4revs.gitbook.io/handbook/chapters/bio-based-materials/value-compass.md). # Value Compass Bio-based materials have enormous potential and align with three values from the 4Revs Value Compass. \ \ Bio-based materials contribute to building a circular economy for two main reasons. First, they are part of organic material flows, so in theory, they can more easily be composted, biodegraded, or recycled. However, depending on the processing, products labeled as biodegradable or compostable often require separate industrial processing facilities to be reprocessed. For instance, one study in the [UK on ‘biodegradable’ shopping bags](https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/biodegradable-bags-can-hold-a-full-load-of-shopping-three-years-after-being-discarded-in-the-environment) submerged the bags in soil and saltwater for 3 years and after recovering them, were still able to carry a load of groceries in them (they had not degraded at all)!
The second circularity consideration is that bio-based materials are often by-products or waste products from a specific industry that are repurposed for new uses. Such intersections and cross-fertilizations between production chains are a pillar of the circular economy. For example, treated rice production waste (husks, hulls, and straw) can provide valuable elements for other industries. Husks yield an oil that is too acidic and challenging to refine for food use but can be transformed into mixtures of monoglycerides and diglycerides, useful emulsifying agents for various applications, including food and cosmetics. [Craste](https://craste.co/) is an Indian company that wants to solve the problem of CO2 emissions derived from the 80 million tons of agricultural waste burned each year in India while reducing deforestation to produce paper. It has created a system (patent pending) to produce high-quality, customizable paper and cardboard from agricultural waste through a low-impact process. In this way, the bio-based material brings an otherwise “waste” material into a new production chain, contributing to a circular local economy.
Bio-based materials economy falls within the scope of bioeconomy. The bioeconomy encompasses and interconnects those economic activities that use renewable biological resources from the land and sea (such as crops, forests, fish, animals, and microorganisms) to produce food, materials, and energy. Part of the bioeconomy is the socioeconomic system related to primary production sectors i.e. agriculture and aquaculture, and the industrial sectors that process biological resources from these sectors. These can be the food, pulp and paper industries, as well as parts of the chemical, energy and biotechnology industries. The bioeconomic approach puts nature at the center of its model. It promotes smart industrialization using biological resources, converted into value-added products such as food and beverages, as well as bioenergy, biofuels, bioplastics, and services. This model generally positively impacts the climate since plants sequester carbon from the atmosphere. At the end of the multiple life cycles of products made from these plants, carbon can be recycled back into the soil or released as atmospheric CO2, falling within the natural carbon cycle produced by biomass. However, when bio-based materials are grown intensively with pesticides and fertilizers, this contributes to the fossil fuel-based economy. Also, bio-based materials can be shipped long-distance, undoing any carbon savings. An example of this is a bamboo-based product made in Thailand but shipped to California. Nonetheless, there are some vegetal species whose cultivation, processing, use in the production of bio-based materials and subsequent degradation have great potential in reducing emissions. Algae provides many essential ecosystem services. They [contribute](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.626389/full) significantly to the global primary production while also playing an important role in the uptake of dissolved nutrients from the surrounding environment, coastal defense from hazardous waves and potentially in carbon sequestration. There are two major types of algae: macroalgae - the multicellular type, visible to the naked eye, also known as seaweed, and microalgae - microscopic, mainly unicellular organisms, also known as phytoplankton. Microalgae support all life in our oceans, freshwater lakes and rivers, by [using](https://theconversation.com/microalgae-is-natures-green-gold-our-pioneering-project-to-feed-the-world-more-sustainably-170158) sunlight through the process of photosynthesis to convert inorganic molecules (carbon dioxide, nutrients and water) into proteins, fats and carbohydrates, plus a host of other organic compounds that help them grow and survive. As microalgae do not have roots, leaves and stems, they can use carbon dioxide and nutrients more efficiently than land plants, enabling them to grow more rapidly. They can be relatively [easily cultivated and harvested](https://theconversation.com/microalgae-is-natures-green-gold-our-pioneering-project-to-feed-the-world-more-sustainably-170158) to produce biomass crops (“algaculture”). Algal biomass contains a wide range of useful molecules that can be used to produce food, feed, pharmaceuticals, bioplastics, fertilisers and biofuels. Because of its multiple uses microalgae has the potential to become an important component in reaching sustainable development targets. Recent economic studies have proved that the development of microalgal industries is a progressing market field. The global microalgae market was [valued](https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/microalgae-market-A13419) at $977.3 million in 2020 and is projected to reach $1,485.1 million by 2028. Macroalgae have also great potential: [kelp](https://oceana.org/marine-life/kelp-forest/), for example, is a fast-growing seaweed (they can grow 45 cm a day!) that doesn’t require additional water or agricultural land, or any fertilizer and pesticides. Kelp contributes to ocean habitat restoration and de-acidification, is powerful carbon sequestration tool and is bio and marine degradable. There a lot of start-ups and projects around the world using algae to create bio-based products or services, ranging from [packaging](https://mujolab.com/wordpress/), to [wastewater treatment facilities](https://algaewheel.com/), [bio-refineries](https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/independent-ipa/about/) and even [tampons](https://www.vyldness.de/)!
Are you familiar with Mater-Bi? [Mater-Bi is the trade name of a bioplastic made of plant starch](https://www.novamont.com/eng/mater-bi), patented and marketed by the Italian company Novamont. The production of Mater-Bi began in 1990 as a response to the growing demand for sustainable and biodegradable materials for the production of packaging and other single-use products. This bio-based material was a real revolution in the field of green chemistry and an important step in the fight against waste: in fact, it was the first biodegradable material (Mater-Bi's biodegradation process, carried out by microorganisms, produces water, carbon dioxide and methane) to be used for the production of food packaging. In recent years, its popularity has grown exponentially due to its ability to provide a sustainable, affordable, high-volume alternative to conventional plastics. The Mater-Bi molecule began to play an important role in society following the enactment of a 2010 European regulation that replaces commercial plastic bags with bioplastic bags that comply with UNI EN 13432 - which determines which packaging can be defined as biodegradable or compostable. Discoveries and inventions like these, however, do not happen every day. Nor, for that matter, do all those researching bio-based materials have the impressive facilities and funding of a company like Novamont behind them. Research on biological materials and their development on an industrial scale primarily aims to find alternatives with a lower environmental impact than the fossil-based materials we still largely use. Anyone investing in a research project, an innovative startup working on these issues, undoubtedly has a dream: to invent THE solution that addresses the numerous problems affecting one or more highly impactful industries, such as fashion, construction, cosmetics, disposables, and biofuels. It's essential to remember that the idea of a single solution, a cure-all for all the world's problems, doesn't exist and is not even desirable. Our own planet offers lessons in this: it functions and thrives in conditions of multiplicity, abundance, and a diversity of solutions that prove effective in various contexts. The fascination for it is perhaps why biomimicry is such a popular framework for innovation. Biomimicry is the conscious study of nature's biological and biomechanical processes as a source of inspiration for improving human technology and activities. For example, the most recent and popular [method for concrete healing uses microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2097049822000440) due to their efficiency and sustainability. These bacteria and fungi promote crack healing by precipitating calcium carbonate in cracks, filling the volume of microcracks and preventing crack propagation. It is, therefore, crucial to continue working on and financing bio-based materials of different origins because all of them together have the disruptive potential to change the course of economies, societies, and our relationship with the planet toward a desirable future where humanity can survive.