Bioeconomy Towards Green Deal. Case Study of Citric Acid Production through Fuzzy Cognitive Maps

The rapid consumption of resources, as well as the increase in the number of people, has raised awareness of the urgent need to change Europe’s existing methods and attitudes towards the consumption of biological resources in production, processing, storage, reuse and disposal. One of the key principles of the European Green Deal is to make the EU economy sustainable. Achieving this goal requires promoting resource efficiency through the transition to a clean circular economy, restoring biodiversity and, above all, reducing pollution in order to mitigate climate change. The aim of the research is to create and offer bioeconomy opportunities, by demonstrating, analysing, and describing possible solution with the help of various examples. In order to compare different production process methods, which helps to understand which of them best meets the set sustainability criteria, fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM) modelling method was used. Alternatives to 16 bio-products are evaluated using the FCM (fuzzy cognitive maps) method using the Mental Modeller tool, according to four criteria – environmental, economic, social and technological aspects. Obtained results are reliable and objectively reflect the validity of the FCM method, and the use of this type of integrated analysis is appropriate to compare the various alternative production processes considered in the work.