Glossary - B

Balance Sheet

A balance sheet lists a company´s entire assets (assets) on the one hand, and its equity and borrowed capital (liabilities & shareholders´ equity) on the other. A public limited company publishes its balance sheet after the end of each financial year to provide an overview of its asset and debt situation.

Bentonite

Bentonite is a type of clay named after Fort Benton, USA, where it was originally found. It consists mainly of the clay mineral montmorillonite, which plays an important role in determining its properties, due to its special layered structure. After appropriate processing and activation, bentonite products are used as highly-versatile adsorbents and additives, e.g. in the food, detergent and foundry industries.

Bioethanol

Ethanol produced solely from regenerative biomass.

Biocatalysis

In the case of biocatalysis, enzymes are used to catalyze chemical reactions.

Biomass

Biomass denotes the total mass of organic material within a defined ecological system following biochemical synthesis. It contains the mass of all living organisms, dead organisms and organic metabolic products. Biomass is also used as a generic term for renewable resources which can be used to produce e.g. energy or chemical substances.

Biorefining

High-grade, integrated use of renewable resources (biomass) in the production of biochemicals.

Bleaching earth

Highly-activated bleaching earth is created by treating clay minerals (e.g. bentonite) with acid. It is mainly used to refine edible oils.