2. Positioning biosolvents and associated standards

2.1 Definition of a biosolvent

Since the 1990s, health, safety and environmental concerns have led to the development of biosolvents, defined as solvents of natural origin derived from biomass. Their renewable origin may be total or partial. The term "agro-solvent" used by ADEME and INRS is intended to emphasize the agricultural origin of the raw material.

In addition, it is accepted that a biosolvent must respect health and environmental criteria, not only because of its characteristics, but also because of its design, which is part of a sustainable development approach. Thus, the definition of biosolvent meets the more general definition of "bioproducts" given by the European Commission and adopted by ADEME. There is thus an AFNOR NF EN 16766 standard...