Introduction: Challenges and Opportunities in Building a Multinational, Interdisciplinary Research and Education Network
Polysaccharides represent by far the largest group of polymers produced in the world. Fully biodegradable, they are made by nature. They are the major source of carbon, on which our life and activities are based. Carbohydrates are the result of photosynth
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Introduction: Challenges and Opportunities in Building a Multinational, Interdisciplinary Research and Education Network on Polysaccharides Julie Navard and Patrick Navard
Contents 1.1
Need for Organising Research and Education in the Polysaccharide Field........ 1
1.2
Building the EPNOE Network ................... 3
1.3
Organisation of EPNOE............................ 5
1.4
Facts and Figures: The Achievements of EPNOE.................................................... 7
1.5
Challenges Around Networking and Opportunities Brought by EPNOE ............ 10
References .......................................................... 11
P. Navard (*) Mines ParisTech, CEMEF – Centre de Mise en Forme des Mate´riaux, CNRS UMR 7635, BP 207, 1 rue Claude Daunesse, 06904 Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France e-mail: [email protected]
1.1
Need for Organising Research and Education in the Polysaccharide Field
Polysaccharides represent by far the largest group of polymers produced in the world. Fully biodegradable, they are made by nature. They are the major source of carbon, on which our life and activities are based. Carbohydrates are the result of photosynthetic CO2 fixation in plants and the central exchange and communication system between organisms. Polymeric carbohydrates (or polysaccharides) such as cellulose and chitin are natural polymers found abundantly in nature as structural building blocks. Other polysaccharides (starch, inulin) provide stored solar energy in the form of sugar for fuelling cells. Oil, gas and coal, made of (very) slowly modified biomass, have been cleverly used by humans to be a major energy source as well as a source of materials. Several factors are pushing for the use of the renewable biomass, i.e. the one that can be harvested in fields and forests. The first is the fact that 1 day or another, oil, gas and coal will be exhausted. Even before this time, the costs of exploitation will be higher and higher due to the fact that all easy-to-extract fossil biomass have been collected. The second is the push for preventing to send in the atmosphere the carbon present in fossil resources. A third driver for the use of renewable biomass is the more and more acute awareness of citizens about environmental issues that is influencing marketing departments of companies.
P. Navard (ed.), The European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence (EPNOE), DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-0421-7_1, # Springer-Verlag Wien 2012
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J. Navard and P. Navard Annual biomass production: 170 billion tons
Carbohydrates 75%
Lignin 20%
Fats, Proteins, Nucleic acids 5%
Only 3.5% is used by human (6 billion tons/a)
Food 62%
Wood for energy, paper and construction 33% Non-food use (clothing, chemicals) 5%
Fig. 1.1 Annual biomass production and use by humans (adapted by EPNOE partners Li Shen and Patel, Utrecht University from Thoen and Busch 2006)
Human beings are using a small portion of the whole biomass production (Fig. 1.1). Biomass is mainly polysaccharides or molecules closely associated with them like l
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