Engineering the Bioeconomy

The bioeconomy is most associated with renewable bio-based fuels for meeting transportation and stationary energy needs. At the federal level, the U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 set a target of 36 billion gallons of bio-based fuel production by the year 2022. Of this, 16 billion gallons are to be produced from nonstarch sources of sugars such as agricultural and forestry biomass. State governments are also participating as over half have enacted renewable electricity standards that promote the use of bio-based energy sources. Market forces are beginning to drive the bioeconomy as the private sector becomes increasingly aware of the beneficial uses of by-products from biofuel production, as animal feeds, neutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and other valuable chemicals. Engineering a sustainable and efficient bioeconomy requires a monumental research effort. Systems analysis, including the tools of life-cycle assessment and economics, is needed to transparently quantify the economic, environmental, and social costs as well as benefits of adopting bio-based supply chains and technologies. Profitability is now computed not only from the sale of products and by-products but also by carbon and renewable energy credits. Considering environmental and social qualitative impacts, both positive and negative, is essential to avoid unintended consequences. Research in agriculture, silviculture, and biomass conversion is actively being pursued to support the burgeoning bioeconomy. Biomass sources such as energy crops and cellulosic residues that can be economically and sustainably converted into bio-based products are being developed. Traditional agricultural research is again needed, not on food production, but instead on growing,