| Abstract |
According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), global demand for energy and natural resources is expected to increase, and climate change impacts will intensify. The only viable option is to move to a low-carbon, clean, safe, affordable and renewable energy circular economy. Circular economy is thus among the main contemporary political objectives in Europe, and sustainability and reflection on the life cycle are increasingly the center of attention. According to the Circular Economy (EC) model, with regard to energy production, sustainable development must be guided by principles of reduction, reuse and recycling of materials and waste, with the combustion process at as the penultimate option, followed by landfill. The current paradigm of extraction, production and use of natural resources do not converge with a future vision. The planet has a finite capacity of resources that it is able to provide, just as is finite its capacity to deal with the consequences of the use of these resources. Solutions that seek synergies between resources and waste, the use of resources and the consequences that result with a minimal environmental impact, have been sought. Biomass recovery technologies are pointed as a solution that aims to reversing part of the problem. This document approaches the problems associated with resource extraction, elucidating how waste (in this case, forest biomass) can be converted into energy and the resulting by-products can be returned to nature with a positive impact, closing the cycle. These new biomass recovery technology can enable the creation of new companies and job creation. |