A biobased product (bioproduct) is a commercial or industrial product (other than food or feed) that is composed, in whole or in significant part, of biological products or renewable domestic agricultural materials (including plant, animal, and marine material) or forestry material (Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002). Traditional fiber products (engineered wood products, paper and cardboard) are typically excluded as bioproducts, but some of the new composite hybrid (fiber-plastic) materials are sometimes included depending on the fiber source and whether or not the plastic comes from fossil fuel or renewable resources.
The diversity and number of products that can be produced from the hundreds of different biomass resources is astounding. However, despite this diversity, bioproducts can be classified based on a limited number of structurally defined chemicals within plants and animals, most notably carbohydrates (sugars especially glucose; starches; and plant structural components such as cellulose which is the most abundant organic chemical on earth; and hemicellulose); plant aromatic compounds (including lignin which holds plant cells together and is the second most abundant source of carbon in nature); lipids (fats and oils); and proteins.
These structural components can be transformed to produce potentially thousands of bioproducts including, but not limited to, commodity organic chemicals; intermediate organic chemicals (used to produce commodity chemicals); plastics, nylons, and other polymers; adhesives; solvents; inks; components of paints; surfactants in detergents; lubricants; rubbers and latexes; and ingredients in cosmetics.
Numerous processes can be used to convert biomass resources into bioproducts including, but not limited to, fermentation; gasification combined with metal or biological catalysts; and lipid transformation and transesterification processes.