1. 1
Sustainable sourcing of biomass for
bio-based materials and determination
of bio-based content of products
Jarno Dakhorst | NEN
CEPE Annual Conference 2016 | Lisbon, Portugal | 6 October 2016

2. About NEN
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3. Characteristics of bio-based products
Bio-based products are characterised by several aspects:
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Sustainability of biomass
Bio-based contentLife-cycle analysis
Toxicity
Biodegradability
Marine biodegradability
… and many more

4. Context sustainability
• Use of biomass: from green
revolution to hot issue, e.g.:
― “Food vs fuel” / competition
― Deforestation / (indirect) land use change
• Need to address sustainability criteria for biomass:
― Legal framework for biofuels and bioliquids for energy
applications => Renewable Energy Directive
― Voluntary framework for solid and gaseous biomass for energy
applications => Recommendations from EC
― Unknown framework for bio-based products yet =>
Standardization request from EC; not known if standards will be
linked to legislation
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5. Sustainability
• Sustainable development is defined as “development
which meets the needs of current generations without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs” [Brundtland definition]
• Concept of sustainable development supports strong
economic and social development, in particular for people with
a low standard of living, and underlines importance of
protecting natural resource base and the environment
• Sustainability involves social, environmental and
economic aspects => People, Planet, Profit (3Ps)
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6. Sustainability themes
• Typical themes [source: Testing framework sustainable biomass]:
― Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:
 GHG balance
 Carbon stock
― Competition with food and local applications of biomass
― Biodiversity
― Environment:
 Soil
 Water
 Air
― Prosperity
― Social well-being
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7. Supply chain
• Supply chain of bio-based products can be complex
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Biomass
production
Fossil raw
material
production
v
Mineral raw
material
production
v
Primary
production
of bio-
based
product
Process-
ing
Final
production
of bio-
based
product
End
consumer
[Source: EN 16751:2016]

8. Chain of custody
• Sustainable sourcing of biomass requires traceability
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Biomass
production
Fossil raw
material
production
v
Mineral raw
material
production
v
Primary
production
of bio-
based
product
Process-
ing
Final
production
of bio-
based
product
End
consumer
E.g.
sustainability
and bio-based
content

9. Many initiatives addressing
sustainability of biomass …
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10. Overcoming trade barriers
… cases based on standards (1)
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Standards…
• … are documents with agreements on products, services
and systems
• ... are designed for voluntary use
• ... contribute to:
― international strength of competition
― innovation
― health, safety and environment
― image
• ... are in accordance with WTO

11. … cases based on standards (2)
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Standardization …
• … is an open process => all parties concerned invited
to participate for broad support
• … is developing agreements based on consensus =>
no sustained opposition
• … is transparent => agreements are publicly available
for comments and use
• … takes place on three levels:
― national (e.g. NEN, DIN, IPQ)
― regional (e.g. CEN, GSO)
― international (e.g. ISO, IEC)

12. EN 16751:2016 (1)
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13. EN 16751:2016 (2)
• This European standard …
― … sets horizontal sustainability criteria applicable to the bio-based
part of all bio-based products, excluding food, feed and energy,
covering all three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social and
economic aspects
― … sets a framework to provide information on management of
sustainability aspects
― … cannot be used to make claims that operations or products are
sustainable, since it does not establish thresholds or limits
― … can be used for business-to-business communication or for
developing product specific standards and certification schemes
NOTE ISO 13065, Sustainability criteria for bioenergy has been used as
starting point
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14. NTA 8080:2015 | Better Biomass (1)
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15. NTA 8080:2015 | Better Biomass (2)
• System originates from Testing framework sustainable
biomass [developed in 2006-2007 by multi-stakeholder committee]
• NTA 8080-1 describes the requirements for sustainably
produced biomass for application in bioenergy (electricity,
heating, cooling, and transport fuel) and bio-based
products.
• NTA 8080-2 describes the requirements on the chain of
custody from biomass production to final application as
bioenergy or bio-based products in order to assure the
traceability of the origin of the biomass.
• Biomass and products made from biomass can occur in a
solid, liquid or gaseous state.
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16. NTA 8080:2015 | Better Biomass (3)
• Applicability of sustainability requirements depends on
activities and position in supply chain:
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Special “regime”
for residual flows
(lower risk)
Most
requirements for
biomass
producers

17. NTA 8080:2015 | Better Biomass (4)
• Chain-of-custody requirements apply to entire supply chain
• Mass balance to ensure robust sustainability claims
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18. Context bio-based content
• The bio-based product is normally characterised by the
bio-based content, so important that bio-based content
can be determined
• Standardisation request M/492
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19. EN 16785-1:2015
• EN 16785-1 specifies a method of determining the bio-
based content in products, based on the radiocarbon
analysis and elemental analysis.
• This method is not needed for the determination of the
bio-based content in natural products wholly derived from
biomass.
• EN 16785-1 is applicable to any solid, liquid and gaseous
product containing carbon, provided that a statement is
available about the elemental composition and the bio-
based content of the product(s).
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20. Method of assessment
• Group I product: products obtained by chemical or
biological reaction
Group I products shall undergo 14C analysis and elemental analysis.
Their declaration shall contain a detailed elemental composition of
the bio-based part and the fossil part.
• Group II product: products obtained by mixing Group I
products, without chemical or biological reaction
Group II products shall only undergo 14C analysis. Their declaration
shall be done by simple calculation of the bio-based content by using
data obtained from suppliers, provided that the bio-based content of
the constituents (Group I) are analysed according to this method.
This simplified declaration takes into account the possible complexity
of formulated products.
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21. Roadmap for certification
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• Single European bio-based
content certification scheme
will soon be launched!
• Independent assessment will increase credibility of bio-
based content claim of products or product families

22. Thank you for your attention
www.biobasedcontent.eu
22CEPE Annual Conference 2016 | Lisbon, Portugal | 6 October 2016
jarno.dakhorst@nen.nl
+31 6 3333 4671 or +31 15 2690 245
@jarnodakhorst
https://nl.linkedin.com/in/jarnodakhorst
www.betterbiomass.com