Biorefineries for the Chemical Industry – A Dutch Point of View

Biomass Pyrolysis for Hybrid Biorefineries

“…Many variations exist of pyrolysis-based biorefineries, 47,48 and an early (1920s) example is the production of charcoal and various other products in the continuous wood distillation plant of the Ford Motor Company in Michigan, USA. 45 This plant used 400 tons per day of scrap wood from the automobile body plant.…”

The Biorefinery Concept

“…The diversity of the products gives a high degree of flexibility to changing market demands (a current by-product might become a key product in the future) and provides phase III biorefineries with various options to achieve profitability and maximise returns [33]. In addition, their multi-feedstock nature helps them to secure feedstock availability and offers these highly integrated biorefineries the possibility of selecting the most profitable combination of raw materials [39,40]. Although no commercial phase III biorefineries exist, extensive work is currently being carried out in the EU, the US (the present leading player in this field) and elsewhere on the design and feasibility of such facilities.…”

The Biorefinery Concept–An Integrated Approach

“…The diversity of the products gives a high degree of flexibility to changing market demands (a current by-product might become a key product in the future) and provides phase III biorefineries with various options to achieve profitability and maximise returns. In addition, their 'multiple feedstock' aspect helps them to secure feedstock availability and offers these highly integrated biorefineries the possibility to select the most profitable combination of raw materials (de Jong et al, 2006). Although no commercial phase III biorefineries exist at present, extensive work is being carried out in the EU (e.g.…”