Sustainable chemical feedstocks

Highlights:

  • Patent activity in sustainable chemical feedstocks has grown steadily over the past two decades, with both waste streams and biomass driving the bulk of innovation.
  • South Korea and Europe are emerging as leaders in filings, reflecting the impact of supportive government policies such as Korea’s green procurement mandates and the EU’s circular economy strategies.
  • After a surge between 2015 and 2020, filing numbers relating to waste streams dipped in 2022–2023, potentially an indicator that early-stage innovation is maturing and moving into the scale and commercialisation stage.
  • Patent filings relating to bio-based materials are particularly evident in some sectors, such as construction.

Moving toward sustainable feedstocks is an important step in helping the chemical industry grow while also taking the environmental impact into account.

In recent years, there has been a growing shift toward sustainable chemical feedstocks—raw materials that can reduce environmental impact, enhance circularity, and decouple chemical production from finite fossil reserves. Promising alternatives include biomass-derived intermediates and waste streams such as recycled products. These sources not only offer opportunities for lowering carbon intensity but also align with broader climate and circular economy objectives.

The transition to sustainable feedstocks, however, is not without challenges. Technical barriers in processing, economic competitiveness, supply chain logistics, and regulatory uncertainties all influence the pace of innovation in sustainable chemical feedstocks. Moving toward sustainable feedstocks is an important step in helping the chemical industry grow while also taking the environmental impact into account. Assessing the number of patent flings in the area of sustainable chemical feedstocks can indicate the innovation within this technological field.

Waste streams

Among the most promising routes toward sustainable feedstocks is the use of waste streams as feedstock materials. Instead of being landfilled, incinerated, or released into the environment, industrial by-products, municipal solid waste, and end-of-life plastics can be repurposed as valuable inputs for chemical manufacturing. For example, chemical recycling of plastics can generate monomers and intermediates suitable for new polymer production, while agricultural residues and food waste can be converted into bio-based chemicals and fuels. Even carbon dioxide, long considered a waste emission, is increasingly viewed as a carbon source for producing fuels, polymers, and specialty chemicals through catalytic and electrochemical conversion.

Recycling of common materials

Patent data shows that innovation relating to recycling technology for widely used materials (plastics, rubber, glass, etc) was suffering from a decline until around the time of the Paris Agreement, following which a new strong surge in new filing activity can be found.

The majority of the new filings are relating to the recycling of plastics (which is discussed more in the Plastic Recycling article), with other filings relating to the recycling of further materials, such as wood and glass.

Figure 1: twenty-year trend - global priority filings - recycled materials

In terms of the top filers, LG has dominated for the past three years, being responsible for over 50 percent of filings in 2021 and 2022 out of the total numbers of filings of the top ten filers. In 2020, Eastman dominated the number of filings, with a sudden drop off in 2021.

Figure 2: ten-year trend - top ten filers - recycled materials

Agriculture and food waste

Overall, in the past 30 years, the number of new patent applications relating to the use of agricultural and food waste as sustainable chemical feedstocks has steadily increased. There have been several dips, in 2002 and 2015, with the most significant dip coming in 2022. There is a chance that this current dip is a sign of a maturing industry, with resources moving to implementation of commercially viable technology. However, it could also be a sign of an industry losing momentum in a different economic climate.

Figure 3: thirty-year trend global priority filings - agriculture and food waste

South Korea is dominating the number of new patent applications in this technological area, with consistent highest filing numbers in the past 10 years. High numbers in South Korea may have been driven by legislation mandating government agencies to buy “green products” whenever possible, which was launched in 2005.

The number of filings in the US, historically the second highest filing territory, have remained relatively steady over the years, up to the notable drop in 2022 and 2023. US leadership in this sector could be related to the U.S. BioPreferred Program which is an initiative that aims to assist in the development and expansion of markets for biobased products, which was created by the 2002 Farm Bill (legislation).

Figure 4: thirty-year trend - global priority filings by jurisdiction - agriculture and food waste

The patent applications being filed cover technology ranging from biofertilizers made from plant waste to methods for producing sodium carbonate (Na­­2CO3) and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) and simultaneously capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) by utilizing shells, such as from shellfish.

In both technological areas (recycling of common materials and use of agricultural and food waste) we have seen a historically high surge peak and in recent years start to fall. Hopefully, this is a sign of maturing industries, rather than a loss of momentum and support.

As with waste-derived feedstocks, the use of biomass faces technical and economic hurdles, including feedstock availability, land-use considerations, and scalability.

Biomass

Another major pillar of sustainable feedstock development is biomass. Derived from renewable biological resources such as agricultural crops, forestry residues, microorganisms, and algae, biomass provides a versatile platform for producing fuels, bulk chemicals, and high-value specialty products, and are increasingly used in packaging, construction, textiles, and consumer goods.

Biomass feedstocks can broadly be divided into first-generation and second-generation sources. First-generation biomass draws on food-based crops such as sugarcane, corn, and oilseeds, offering high yields and mature processing routes but raising concerns over land use and food-fuel competition. Second-generation biomass, by contrast, relies on lignocellulosic residues and non-food crops such as straw, bagasse, wood chips, and switchgrass. Although technically more complex to break down, these feedstocks avoid many of the sustainability trade-offs associated with crop-based routes.

Biomass can be converted into useful intermediates through a variety of pathways. Thermochemical routes such as pyrolysis and gasification produce syngas and bio-oils, while biochemical approaches – such as fermentation and enzymatic processes – enable the production of bioethanol, bioplastics, and other bio-based chemicals. Advances in lignocellulosic processing and second-generation biofuels are also expanding the potential of non-food biomass sources, reducing competition with agriculture for food supply.

As with waste-derived feedstocks, the use of biomass faces technical and economic hurdles, including feedstock availability, land-use considerations, and scalability. Nonetheless, innovation in biomass utilisation continues to gain momentum (shown in Figure 5), with patent activity reflecting both growing industrial interest and policy support aimed at accelerating the transition to renewable resources.

Figure 5: thirty-year trend - global priority filings - biomass feedstocks

Figure 5 shows a steady increase in patent filings relating to biomass feedstock over the past 30 years, with a notable levelling off in recent years, reflective of the broader trend seen across sustainable feedstocks.

In terms of filings by jurisdiction, in 2013 the US was the top filing jurisdiction; however, the number of new US filings has steadily decreased year upon year. Over the most recent ten-year period, the number of filings in Europe has steadily increased such that in 2023 Europe now had the most patent filings, with Japan following closely behind (Figure 6).

Figure 6: ten-year trend - global priority filings by jurisdiction - biomass feedstocks

Sector focus - construction

The construction sector is increasingly turning to bio-based feedstocks as part of its transition toward more sustainable materials. Biomass-derived products such as wood, hemp, flax, bamboo, and bio-resins are being developed and applied in areas ranging from insulation and composites to structural components and coatings. These materials offer advantages including lower embodied carbon, renewability, and improved life-cycle performance compared to traditional petrochemical-based alternatives. At the same time, advances in processing technologies are enhancing durability, fire resistance, and mechanical properties, making bio-based feedstocks more attractive in construction materials.

Several projects and legislations for bio-based building materials are likely leading to the increased patent filing numbers of bio-based materials used in construction. For example, BIOBUILD is a European project that aims to provide thermal solutions for energy efficiency in buildings through fully bio-based building materials. The project replaces fossil-based materials with new, non-toxic and sustainable building materials which are also geared towards thermal energy storage. Another example is Grow2Build, which is an InterregIVB project that seeks to promote the use of bio-based building products such as wheat straw, hemp, and flax as raw materials for construction products such as bio-composites and compressed agricultural fibreboard.

Figure 7: fifty-year trend - global priority filings - bio-based materials in construction

As shown in Figure 7, there has been a steady increase in the number of priority filings relating to bio-based materials in construction over the last 50 years. While there is again a dip in momentum in 2022, it is not historically significant, with filing picking up again in 2023.

In terms of the top filing assignees, French company Saint Gobain lead the way with the highest number of filings in 2023. Sika Tech has also consistently filed applications over the past 5 years.

Figure 8: Five-year trend: Top ten filers - bio-based materials in construction

Some of the commonly referenced categories of bio-based materials used in construction are:

  • Lignin
  • Cellulose
  • Hemp
  • Algae
  • Biochar
  • Starch

Over the last 10 years, the number of priority filings relating to all 6 materials has remained relatively constant, with cellulose being the most common material referred to in patent filings (Figure 9).

Figure 9: ten-year trend - global priority filings - by different bio-based feedstock

While numbers are still low, priority filings relating to biochar have notably picked up since 2019 and are steadily growing. As more companies explore biochar and other emerging bio-based feedstocks, the diversity of solutions available to the construction sector is set to expand, further enabling a shift towards low-carbon building materials.

Implications for innovation and future patent filings

The analysis of sustainable chemical feedstocks highlights both the opportunities and complexities shaping innovation in this field. Waste streams and biomass are increasingly being recognised as viable alternatives to fossil-based resources, supported by advances in recycling technologies, biochemical processing, and evidenced by applications such as construction. Patent filing trends on the whole reflect this momentum, showing how policy measures, market demand, and corporate sustainability goals have stimulated research and development worldwide.

At the same time, recent dips in filing activity in some areas suggest that early surges of innovation may be giving way to (on an optimistic footing) a period of consolidation, refinement, and scaling. As foundational technologies mature, the emphasis may be shifting toward improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enabling integration into established industrial supply chains. Emerging areas, such as biochar in construction, also signal where new rounds of patent activity may accelerate.

Looking forward, the pace and direction of future filings will likely depend heavily on regulatory frameworks, investment flows, and the ability of new technologies to demonstrate competitiveness at scale. Innovation in sustainable chemical feedstocks is set to remain an essential driver in the transition to a circular and low-carbon chemical industry, and patent activity will continue to serve as a valuable barometer of this progress.

Amelia Foster Patent Attorney
Chris Mason Partner and Patent Attorney
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