Circularity and/or Valorisation of Biomass: Crop Residues, By-products and Extraction of Molecules

Horticultural biomass has a high potential for circularity. This paper focuses on biomass and biomass by-product streams as well as potential valorisation strategies in a horticultural context. Valorisation can be achieved by both high-tech and low-tech solutions. Depending on the location of production, these solutions can be realised by growers and farmers on-site, but the need for high financial investments can lead to off-site solutions that force off-site partnerships and thorough planning of logistics. In case that further use as material (e.g. as building material, chemical feedstock, fertilizer, soil improver) or as food or feed can be ruled out, it can be repurposed as alternative fuel source. This mini-paper highlights the state-of-art use of horticultural biomass streams, explores local solutions and identifies potential markets that can benefit from horticultural by-products.