Samenvatting

Are we at the eve of a transformation in our economic system? “Yes”, according to several visionary scientists and policymakers. They predict the rise of an economy that is based on biological materials, the so-called bio-based economy. The key challenge is that due to several socio-economic developments, the world is expected to consume vastly more resources than today. The total demand for energy is projected to almost double in the next century. Increased scarcity will be accompanied by a constant struggle for supply to meet demand. Sometimes successful, sometimes less so, but always with rising and highly volatile prices as a consequence. New forms of feedstock, bio-based feedstock, will be embraced. This lecture describes some of the hurdles and challenges that the transition to the bio-based economy faces. It also describes the impact this transition will (need to) have on chemical engineering education. Finally, an first area of research focus is defined: bio aromatics. Ad de Kok studied Chemical Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He joined Dow Benelux in Terneuzen in 1977, where he held several positions in R&D and Technology Management in Polymers, Chemicals and Hydrocarbons in Europe, USA and the Pacific. During his career at Dow he earned a Master’s and Doctorate degree in Business Administration. In 2012 he retired from Dow Chemical and joined Research Centre Mainport Innovation at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, where he assumed responsibility for the Renewable Resources in Process Industry area as part of the Innovation in Process Industry cluster.