One of the articles in the series of ＂Three-year Action Plan for Accelerating the Innovation and Development of Non-grain Bio-based Materials＂： Innovative, Green and Integrated Development, Cultivatin

China Federation of Petroleum and Chemical Industries

In order to thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, organize and implement the Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Petrochemical Industry in the 14th Five-Year Plan (No.34 [2022] of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology) jointly issued by six departments, actively open up new fields and tracks of bio-manufacturing and promote the sustainable development of bio-based materials, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the General Administration of Market Supervision are jointly involved. Based on the technological breakthrough in the development and utilization of non-grain biomass, the Action Plan deepens the coupling between biochemical industry and traditional chemical industry, and the integration and innovation between industry and agriculture. With the innovation of technology and mode as the driving force, it strives to enhance the technological innovation, large-scale intensive production and market-oriented development ability of bio-based materials industry, which will effectively promote the ecological construction and improvement of bio-based materials with strong independent innovation ability, rich product system, green circulation and low carbon.

The essence of producing bio-based materials from renewable biomass is to indirectly contribute carbon dioxide in the air to people’s materials and energy for food, clothing, housing and transportation through plant photosynthesis and biotechnology; Developing non-grain bio-based materials can not only meet the people’s material and energy needs, but also reduce the exploitation and consumption of fossil energy such as oil and coal, and also reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and at the same time avoid the dilemma of "competing with people for grain and land", which is an effective way for petrochemical industry to achieve green transformation and carbon neutrality. With the acceleration of global biotechnology revolution and industrial transformation, bio-chemical technology with biocatalysis as the core to produce bio-based materials and chemicals has attracted more and more attention all over the world because of its mild production conditions and low energy consumption, which can partially reduce carbon emissions.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the biological industry, as one of the seven strategic emerging industries, has made great progress. The development of bio-based materials in China has also leapt to a new level, with the gradual increase of product types and the continuous expansion of industrial scale, and it is moving from scientific research and development to comprehensive industrial scale application. During the two sessions of the National People’s Congress in 2022, General Secretary of the Supreme Leader emphasized "developing biotechnology and bio-industry, and demanding heat and protein from plants and animals"; Report to the 20th CPC National Congress of the Communist Party of China also clearly pointed out that a number of new growth engines such as information technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, new energy, new materials, high-end equipment and environmental protection should be built. The promulgation of the Action Plan will push China’s bio-based materials industry into the fast lane of rapid development.

At present, 90% of the raw materials of bio-chemical industry in China come from corn and other food crops, and the problem of competing with people for food and livestock for feeding is outstanding. If we don’t turn to non-grain biomass and develop bulk bio-based chemicals, raw materials will be limited. At present, the annual output of straw in China is 865 million tons, and the utilization of raw materials is only about 1%, which fails to fully realize the high-value utilization of agricultural and forestry wastes after saccharification. To this end, the Action Plan focuses on non-grain biomass raw materials, insists on innovation-driven, emphasizes technological innovation and model innovation, and puts forward two tasks of breaking through key technologies, promoting technological amplification and application demonstration. First, around the whole industrial chain of bio-based materials, a number of key technical problems such as non-grain biomass strain breeding, saccharification, fermentation, separation and online monitoring were carried out. The second is to promote the industrialization of lactic acid, succinic acid, hydroxyl fatty acids and other products for the demand of degradable materials in the packaging field, and to promote the industrialization of polylactic acid, polyamide, polyurethane and bio-based elastomers for the requirements of biomedical materials.

The Petrochemical Federation will implement the innovation-driven development strategy, deploy innovation chain around the industrial chain, and vigorously promote scientific and technological innovation in the field of bio-based materials. The first is to break through a number of key common technologies and equipment. Around the whole industrial chain of bio-based materials, we will carry out a number of key technical research and strengthen technical support. The second is to identify a number of industry innovation platforms. Select qualified enterprises and research institutes in the industry to build industrial technology innovation centers, key laboratories, engineering laboratories or engineering technology centers, and continuously improve the innovation capability of the industry. The third is to identify and evaluate the achievements of key technologies of bio-based materials. For innovative bio-based materials production technology, we should do a good job in the identification and evaluation of results according to the stage of R&D and industrialization. Fourth, do a good job in technology transfer, actively seek technical cooperation units for enterprises that have technology and are interested in technology transfer, promote the production technology of bio-based materials, and gradually make the bio-based materials industry bigger and stronger.

Bio-based materials have the characteristics of environmental protection and renewable raw materials. Compared with traditional chemical materials, bio-based materials effectively reduce carbon emissions in the production process. When the bio-based materials are discarded, most of them can be transformed into non-toxic small molecules such as water and carbon dioxide through biodegradation methods such as combustion or composting, and then re-enter the natural cycle to maintain the whole ecological balance without worrying about increasing carbon emissions. The Action Plan focuses on the environmental friendliness of the whole industrial chain of bio-based materials, and explores the green and low-carbon collection of raw materials and carbon emission accounting. First, build a distributed non-grain biomass pretreatment and standardized raw material production point with reasonable regional radius, promote the high-value and efficient utilization of non-grain biomass saccharification residues to produce organic fertilizer, and promote the demonstration of high-efficiency collection and high-quality utilization of raw materials. The second is the standard system of product quality, energy consumption limit and carbon emission accounting of bio-based materials suitable for China’s industrial characteristics, and promotes the establishment of evaluation methods, product standards, technical standards and labeling systems for bio-based materials and products.

The Petrochemical Federation will thoroughly implement the major strategic decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality, solidly promote the carbon neutrality action in peak carbon dioxide emissions, give full play to the positive role of bio-based materials in carbon trading, and help peak carbon dioxide emissions in the petrochemical industry to be carbon neutral. First, under the guidance of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other ministries, we will explore the establishment of an industry statistical system for bio-based materials by using the platform of the Special Committee on Biochemistry and Biomass Energy, so as to lay a solid statistical foundation for carbon emission reduction. The second is to promote the establishment of evaluation methods, product standards and technical standards for bio-based materials and products, and establish and improve the standard system for bio-based materials. The third is to explore the establishment of a carbon labeling system for bio-based materials and assist relevant ministries to carry out pilot projects.

Bio-based materials are biodegradable and recyclable, and can be widely used in downstream plastic products, textile fibers and other fields. However, at present, there are few kinds of large-scale products, and the integration of upstream and downstream is insufficient, which makes it difficult to promote the downstream application of bio-based materials, and the market substitution of fossil-based products still needs to be improved. To this end, the Action Plan proposes to vigorously promote the integration of industry, technology and market. First, actively promote the integrated innovation of raw material pretreatment technology, fermentation technology, biosynthesis, chemical synthesis technology and application technology, improve the conversion efficiency of non-grain bio-based raw materials, improve the product quality of bio-based materials, and enhance the market competitiveness of bio-based materials. Second, actively build upstream and downstream cooperation platforms such as light industry and chemical industry, bio-based materials and food, medical care, packaging, etc., and effectively promote the verification, popularization and application of bio-based materials.

The Petrochemical Federation will adhere to the demand orientation and vigorously promote the integration of one production and two production, the integration of biological and chemical technologies, and the integration of upstream and downstream products. First, actively explore new models, organize bio-based material production enterprises to connect with non-grain biomass raw material supply departments such as agriculture, forestry and municipal administration, and explore the supply guarantee mechanism of non-grain biomass raw materials with economic scale. Second, bio-based materials that have been industrialized but not yet marketed will be included in the first batch of demonstration and guidance catalogue for key new materials. Third, combining with the implementation of the carbon labeling system of bio-based materials, we will build a public welfare bio-based material traceability platform to lay a technical foundation for the popularization and application of bio-based materials.

The Petrochemical Federation will adhere to the concept of system, make great efforts in improving performance, reducing costs, increasing varieties and expanding applications, promote the coupled development of bio-based materials and the traditional chemical industry system, improve the supply quality of bio-based materials, enrich the supply types, cultivate and create brands, enhance the comprehensive competitiveness of the market, persistently develop and expand the bio-based materials industry, form a partial replacement and effective supplement to the existing fossil-based materials, and make due contributions to the carbon-neutral and high-quality development of petrochemical industry in peak carbon dioxide emissions.