The bio-based economy can serve as the springboard for camelina and crambe to quit the limbo

Social, economic and environmental importance of bio-based economy is rapidly growing and vegetable oils play an important role. About 75% of global production of vegetable oils derives from commodity oilseeds (i.e., soybean, oil palm, rapeseed), while the remaining 25% is produced from minor oilseeds characterized by unusual fatty acid composition. The present review aims at analyzing the potentialities of two alternative oilseed crops for Europe, camelina (Camelina sativa) and crambe (Crambe abyssinica), identified as major candidates for the future European bio-based economy as testified by the recently funded EU Project (Horizon 2020) COSMOS (Camelina and crambe Oil crops as Sources of Medium-chain Oils for Specialty oleochemicals). The interest on camelina and crambe is mainly due to their unique fatty acid profile, low input management and wide environmental adaptability. We attempted to analyze pros and cons of development of camelina and crambe in Europe in the light of biorefinery concept (i.e., using oil and whole produced biomass) as undertaken by COSMOS project.