The BioMatNet Database is no-longer available online. However the content is included in the publications listed below, which can be purchased for a nominal amount from the CPL Press Online Bookshop (while stocks last):
The CD-ROM contains support material for the review, Building the European Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) - The impact of Non-food Research 1988 to 2008 that is based on the experience of the author working for the Commission, or participating in a wide range of different types of contracts, over a period of more than 25 years covering various activities relating to renewable bioproducts and renewable energy.
The main purpose of the report is to outline the extent of previous activities in these areas, review their impact on the development of bio-based products in Europe and to consider what lessons can be learned from such previous activities and to what extent they should be considered in relation to the work programme for the Seventh RTD Framework Programme (FP7). This analysis is of relevance to work proposed within the theme of the Cooperation Programme covering Food
Agriculture, Fisheries and Biotechnology, the primary purpose of which is to contribute to the realisation of European Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (KBBE). The review can be downloaded from the EPOBIO website:
Building the European Knowledge Based Bio-Economy - The Impact of 'Non-Food' Research (1988 to 2008) 378 Kb PDF
The CD-ROM has been prepared on the basis of information that has been collected over the last two decades through a series of information dissemination projects supported by the EC. The latest of these, which funded the production of this review, was the EPOBIO project incorporating BioMatNet ¹. BioMatNet activities have to date been available on a website, however since funding has ceased, the information collected, as well as a series of EPOBIO flagship reports, was brought together as a single publication ², from which further details of the programmes and projects as well as many of the publications cited in this review may be obtained. Further information may also be obtained from the official websites covering all aspects of EU activities or detailing past and present RTD activities, from which much of the background information to the report has been obtained.
You can order copies of the CD-ROM and book direct from the publishers via the CPL Press Online Bookshop
This CD-ROM contains the following information
BioMatNet – Reports of European Research and Technology Development (RTD) Projects and Related National Activities.
EPOBIO - Details of the EC/US Collaborative Biotechnology Activity: Realising the Economic Potential of Sustainable Resources - Bioproducts from Non-food Crops.
Database of Websites of organisations with interests in non-food activities.
Reports from EPOBIO activities and workshops
Other information sources (requires an internet link)
The Non-Food Agro-Industrial Research CD-ROM 7 is a unique resource of information on non-food RTD in Europe. The main component is the complete database of EU suported research and related activities covering renewable bioproducts and biofuels. This has been compiled for more than a decade through a series of projects (NF-AIRID, NF-2000, BioMatNet and now EPOBIO) funded by the European Commission under the AIR, FAIR, FP5 and FP6 programmes.
The CD-ROM contains information on the use of agricultural and forest products as raw materials for the chemical, fibre, building and bioenergy industries. In particular, it covers activities supported by the European Commission (EC) through the Directorate-Generals for Research, Energy and Transport and Agriculture.
The industrial use of plants can make a significant contribution to measures adopted by the EC to find new uses for farm land; sustain rural economy; create jobs; and build SMEs (small and medium enterprises) based on new technology using renewable resources. In addition, this approach has both local and global environmental benefits.
To ensure that the Member States of the European Union are able to develop the technology required, the EC has funded a series of research programmes over the last decade: initiated by ECLAIR, which had a strong biotechnical content. AIR (1991-94) concentrated on increasing the land area farmed for industrial purposes: growth, husbandry, harvesting, storage, supply, processing and end-use of new and traditional crops and trees as well as use of agro-industrial residues. The FAIR programme (1995-1999) has taken this further, covering complete production chains from field to factory, with increased support of scale-up and demonstration projects. Under the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) - Key Action 1.5.2, continued this complete chain approach.
FP6 departed from this established patttern of funding as non-food activities did not feature significantly within the agriculture, food and biotechnology sector. However, a large number of relevant projects were funded within the areas of materials, nanotechnology, renewable energy, environment. In addition a series of support activities, such as studies and common interest networks, covering biomass energy were funded under the Energy Framework Programme and later through the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme.
Aspects of EC, national and international activities relating to non-food agro-industrial use are presented on the CD. In addition it contains information covering activities in the United States. This information has been added since the current funding through EPOBIO (Specific Support Action SSPE-CT-2005-022681) involves collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture.
Much of the information from the EPOBIO project website is also included on the CD-ROM in the second section. This provides the background to this collaborative project initiated through EPOBIO that encompasses and builds on the foresight and the foundation established during 2004/2005 by the US/EC Taskforce in Biotechnology Research - 'Plant-based bioproducts: creating value from renewable resources'. Those discussions established criteria to select Flagship Themes that represent important areas for new international R&D activities aimed at delivering the new generation of bio-based products. Through the prioritisation of the scientific areas and technologies relevant to the design of future areas of collaboration, the US/EC Taskforce endorsed the relevance and development of the first three Flagship themes – plant cell walls, plant oils and biopolymers, each of which have been developed in the context of its environmental impact, economics and regulatory frameworks, attitudes and expectations of policy makers and the public, and a communication strategy.
Previous issues of this CD-ROM have also contained detailed descriptions of organisations and commercial activities covering non-food. However, rapid changes within the industrial sector, including take-overs within the agro-chemical world and reactions to restrictions placed on the use of GM plants within the EU meant that descriptions and contacts rapidly became out of date. For this reason commercial activities are now brought together, along with other bodies such as trade associations and other common interest groups, within a fully searchable databse of websites. Since the benefits of 'on-line' searching are not available when the CD-ROM is used as a stand-alone information source, on the CD-ROM this databse has been completely restructured with both codes words as search items and the ability to carry out an embedded word search.
The fourth section of the CD-ROM contains the full text of all the reports that have been produced to date from the activities of the EPOBIO Flagships, while the Fifth section contains a series of links (requiring an internet connection) to a number of websites providing up-to-date news stories on a daily basis.
Where available all sections of the BioMatNet database are supported by further information in the form of reports, brochures, leaflets, conference presentations and other similar material. Previously, all this information contained in over 100 down-loadable files had to be sought by searching through the individual ITEMs. While this is relatively easy when the material is accessed through the Internet, it is more difficult within the CD-ROM format. hence, all these files have been listed in a table of publications, divided on the basis of the main topic and then sub-divided into general reports and reports arising from EU-funded projects.
Use the Non-Food Agro-Industrial Research Information CD-ROM to find:
The CD-ROM contains more than 1600 items covering European research including:
The scope of BioMatNet and this Non-Food Agro-Industrial Research CD-ROM is to cover the chain from field or forest to end-user for novel products based on crops or trees.
Information includes availability, collection, transport and conversion of raw materials. It covers novel uses for conventional raw materials and novel raw materials, through physical, chemical and biological processing for the specialty, fine and commodity (bulk) chemical markets as well as other renewable biomaterials and bioproducts such as animal feed, pulp/paper, fibre, construction material and biofuels.
Crops include:
Raw materials include:
Technologies include:
Products include:
Copyright and System Requirements
The data held on the Non-Food Agro-Industrial Research Information CD-ROM is based on information supplied by the European Commission, as well as National Representatives and Registrants. The design and the pages of this CD-ROM are protected under copyright and are the property of CPL Scientific Publishing Services Ltd, UK. The information may be copied and distributed in the original format, for non-commercial purposes, with acknowledgements to BioMatNet (QLK5-2000-00100) and the European Commission Directorate-General for Research.
This product is designed to be used on any computer running a browser capable of reading long file names (e.g. Windows 98 or above).
You can order copies of this CD-ROM direct from the publishers via the CPL Press Online Bookshop
This CD-ROM contains Adobe Acrobat PDF files that include the full contents of 10 agri-industrial reports covering the state of the art commissioned by the EC from leading European Experts during the 1990s. Hundreds of copies of these have already been distributed in their original printed form, but stocks of these are now exhausted, while demand continues. In view of the high costs of printing and postal distribution printed documents production on CD-ROM is seen as the most effective way of meeting this demand.
The reports included on the Agri-industry report CD-ROM are as follows:
You can order copies of this CD-ROM direct from the publishers via the CPL Press Online Bookshop
© Copyright 2006 Policy Statements
Updated
by CPL Press
18 May, 2010
- biomatnet@biomatnet.org
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