Exploring Biomass Linkages in the Food and Energy Market—A Systematic Review

Abstract

This study delves into the intricate landscape of biomass utilization within the food and energy markets. It entails a systematic review of the existing literature with the aim of unraveling the complexities of the food and energy discourse, especially in the context of significant market factors influencing biomass use for food and energy. We leveraged the Scopus database to examine 73 pertinent scientific articles carefully selected following the PRISMA framework. The articles were analyzed using the advanced qualitative data analytics tool NVivo 12 Plus. Furthermore, we employed the Biblioshiny R-package tool to extract valuable insights from the metadata, unveiling pivotal trends and providing descriptive statistical details. The findings offer comprehensive insights into the debate on biomass utilization from 2010 to 2023, tracing the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. We identify regions that have made notable contributions and highlight those that require increased attention. The analysis underscores the collaborative nature of this field, with 281 authors contributing to 39 different sources. Surprisingly, the observed annual growth rate of −10.93% indicates a potential decline in research output in this field. Nevertheless, the sources identified in our research provide a valuable roadmap for further research exploration of the biomass–food–energy nexus.

Keywords

• bioenergy
• debate
• competition
• COVID-19
• land use