Biorefineries from the perspective of sustainability: Feedstocks, products, and processes

Ghatak, Himadri Roy

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2011.07.034

Cited by 145 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 98 publications

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“…The replacement of fossil-fuel-based products is generally possible if their alternatives (e.g. biochemicals, transportation fuels and fuels for the generation of heat and electricity delivered from biorefineries) [30,31] biochemical platform and thermochemical platform. The former type normally focuses on the fermentation of sugars, e.g.…”

Section: Biorefinery Platformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biorefining in the prevailing energy and materials crisis: a review of sustainable pathways for biorefinery value chains and sustainability assessment methodologies

Parajuli

Dalgaard

Jørgensen

et al. 2015

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

222

121

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Abstract:The aim of the current paper is to discuss the sustainability aspect of biorefinery systems with focus on: biomass supply chains, processing of biomass feedstocks in biorefinery platforms and sustainability assessment methodologies. From the stand point of sustainability, it is important to optimize the agricultural production system and minimize the related environmental impacts at the farming system level. These impacts are primarily related to agri-chemical inputs and the related undesired environmental emissions and to the repercussions from biomass production. At the same time, the biorefineries needs a year-round supply of biomass and about 40-60% of the total operating cost of a typical biorefinery is related to the feedstocks chosen, and thus highlights on the careful prioritization of feedstocks mainly based on their economic and environmental loadings. Regarding the processing in biorefinery platforms, chemical composition of biomasses is important. Biomasses with higher concentrations of cellulose and hemicelluloses compared to lignin are preferred for bioethanol production in the lignocellulosic biorefinery, since the biodegradability of cellulose is higher than lignin. A green biorefinery platform enables the extraction of protein from grasses, producing an important alternative to importing protein sources for food products and animal feed, while also allowing processing of residues to deliver bioethanol. Currently, there are several approaches to integrate biorefinery platforms, which are aimed to enhance their economic and environmental sustainability. Regarding sustainability assessment, the complexities related to the material flows in a biorefinery and the delivery of alternative biobased products means dealing with multiple indicators in the decision-making process to enable comparisons of alternatives. Life Cycle Assessment is regarded as one of the most relevant tools to assess the environmental hotspots in the biomass supply chains, at processing stages and also to support in the prioritization of any specific biobased products and the alternatives delivered from biorefineries.Keywords: biorefinery, biomass feedstock, sustainability, biobased product, environmental performances, economic performances, Life Cycle Assessment 2 IntroductionThe societal need of energy and materials is predicted to reach a crisis point in the near future [1]. This is because of the coupling between escalating demand and cost of fossil fuels upon which the production of chemicals, materials and energy conversions still depend. The high energy intensity in material production has sustainability impacts on the energy sector, environment and economy [2]. Currently fossil fuels contribute about 80% of the global energy demand, and even if the current political commitments and strategies to tackle the issues of climate change and energy insecurity, as envisioned by different countries are in place, the global energy demand in 2035 is still projected to rise by 40% with fossil fuels contributing 75% [3]. The ...

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Section: Biorefinery Platformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the current era, the biorefinery concept is aimed at replacing the 'petroleum refineries' [29] and to reduce the fossil fuel intensity in different production areas [30]. The replacement of fossil-fuel-based products is generally possible if their alternatives (e.g.…”

Section: Biorefinery Platformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biorefining in the prevailing energy and materials crisis: a review of sustainable pathways for biorefinery value chains and sustainability assessment methodologies

Parajuli

Dalgaard

Jørgensen

et al. 2015

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

222

121

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“…Due to the well-known problem of land competition between food and biomass feedstock dedicated crops, a growing number of studies investigate specifically the use of residues as a secondary source of energy or raw material. Food industry (both agriculture and food processing sectors is considered a relevant sector for bio-refineries (Ghatak, 2011;B. Kamm and M. Kamm, 2004), especially due to the potential use of food industry residues (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current options for the valorization of food manufacturing waste: a review

Mirabella

Castellani

Sala

2014

Journal of Cleaner Production

906

467

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The production of food waste covers all the food life cycle: from agriculture, up to industrial manufacturing and processing, retail and household consumption. In developed countries, 42% of food waste is produced by households, while 39% losses occur in the food manufacturing industry, 14% in food service sector and remaining 5% in retail and distribution. Increasingly, industrial ecology concepts such as cradle to cradle and circular economy are considered leading principle for eco-innovation, aiming at "zero waste economy" in which waste are used as raw material for new products and applications. The large amount of waste produced by the food industry, in addition to being a great loss of valuable materials, also raises serious management problems, both from the economic and environmental point of view. Many of these residues, however, have the potential to be reused into other production systems, trough e.g. biorefineries. The present work focuses on the use of food waste coming from food manufacturing (FWm). Through extensive literature review, the authors present feasibility and constraints of applying industrial symbiosis in recovering waste from food processing, focusing on recycling (excluding energy recovery) of the solid and liquid waste from food processing industry. The main uses of functional ingredients derived from this transformation are presented and discussed, highlighting mainstream sectors of application, e.g. in the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industry.

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“…According to Ghatak (2011), an upgraded technology for lignin isolation from black liquor and breakthroughs in industrial chemistry and chemical technology for value-added products from lignin can profoundly improve a lignocellulosic biorefinery.…”

Section: Thermochemical Conversion Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest biomass supply chain optimization for a biorefinery aiming to produce high-value bio-based materials and chemicals from lignin and forestry residues: a review of literature

Dessbesell

Pulkki

et al. 2017

Can. J. For. Res.

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Technological development has enabled the production of new value-added products from lignocellulosic residues such as lignin. This has allowed the forest industry to diversify its product portfolio and maximize the economic returns from feedstock, while simultaneously working towards sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based products. Although previous research has explored industrial-scale production opportunities, many challenges persist, including the cost of woody biomass and its supply chain reliability. While numerous studies have addressed these issues, their emphasis has traditionally been on bioenergy, with little focus on biochemical, biomaterials, and bioproducts. This review seeks to address this gap through a systematic study of the work recently reported by researchers. A lot of work has been published from United States and Canada with an emphasis on bioenergy production (84.8%), 4.6% of the work is focused on biomass to materials and chemicals, and 10.6% addressed both. Between 2012 and 2015, the majority of published research focused on biomass to materials and chemicals and both biomass to energy and biomass to materials and chemicals. This fact highlights recent interests in diversified biorefinery portfolios. However, further work concerning forest biomass supply chain optimization and new high-value bio-based materials and chemicals is necessary.Key words: biomass to energy, biomass to materials and chemicals, economic optimization, lignocellulosic residues, value-added bio-based products.Résumé : Des avancées technologiques ont rendu possible la production de nouveaux produits à valeur ajoutée à partir de résidus lignocellulosiques tels que la lignine. Cela a permis à l'industrie forestière de diversifié sa gamme de produits et de maximiser les retombées économiques de la matière première tout en travaillant simultanément à développer des alternatives durables aux produits à base de pétrole. Bien que les travaux de recherche précédents aient exploré les opportunités de production à l'échelle industrielle, plusieurs défis persistent, incluant le coût de la biomasse ligneuse et la fiabilité de sa chaîne logistique. Alors que de nombreuses études se sont intéressées à ces questions, l'accent a traditionnellement été mis sur la bioénergie et très peu sur les bioproduits : produits biochimiques et biomatériaux. Cette revue de littérature vise à combler cette lacune par le biais d'une étude systématique des travaux récemment publiés par les chercheurs. Beaucoup de travaux publiés aux États-Unis et au Canada mettent l'accent sur la production de bioénergie (84,8 %), 4,6 % des travaux portent sur la transformation de la biomasse en matériaux et produits chimiques et 10,6 % s'intéressent aux deux sujets. La majorité des travaux de recherche publiés entre 2012 et 2015 portent sur la transformation de la biomasse en matériaux et produits chimiques et sur les deux sujets, soit la transformation de la biomasse en énergie, matériaux et produits chimiques. Cela met en évidence l'intérêt récen...

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Biorefineries from the perspective of sustainability: Feedstocks, products, and processes

Cited by 145 publications

References 98 publications

Biorefining in the prevailing energy and materials crisis: a review of sustainable pathways for biorefinery value chains and sustainability assessment methodologies

Biorefining in the prevailing energy and materials crisis: a review of sustainable pathways for biorefinery value chains and sustainability assessment methodologies

Current options for the valorization of food manufacturing waste: a review

Forest biomass supply chain optimization for a biorefinery aiming to produce high-value bio-based materials and chemicals from lignin and forestry residues: a review of literature

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