Biorefinery

A biorefinery is the means by which biomass can be converted to other products using a biochemical platform or a thermochemical platform which can be simply represented (Table B-29). Thus:

Table B-29 Simplified representation of a biorefinery.

In the current context, the other products are biofuels which have the potential to replace certain crude oil-derived fuels. Thus, biorefining offers a key method to accessing the integrated production of chemicals, materials, and fuels. The biorefinery concept is analogous to that of an oil refinery except that biomass (instead of crude oil) is the feedstock to the refinery.

      Biomass refers to (i) energy crops grown specifically to be used as fuel, such as fast-growing trees or switch grass, (ii) agricultural residues and by-products, such as straw, sugarcane fiber, and rice hulls, and (iii) residues from forestry, construction, and other wood-processing industries. These products can range from biomaterials to fuels such as ethanol or important feedstocks for the production of chemicals and other materials.

      Biomass is a renewable energy source, unlike the fossil fuel resources (natural gas, crude oil, and coal) and, like the fossil fuels, biomass is a form of stored solar energy but produced in lesser time than the fossil fuels. Thus, a biorefinery is a facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and equipment to produce fuels, power, and chemicals from biomass. The concept is based on the modern crude oil refinery concept, which produces multiple fuels and products from crude oil. Industrial biorefineries have been identified as the most promising route to the creation of a new domestic biobased industry.

      Plants are effective chemical mini-factories or refineries insofar as they produce chemicals by specific pathways. The chemicals they produce are usually essential manufacture (called metabolites) which include sugars and amino acids that are essential for the growth of the plant, as well as more complex compounds.

In a manner similar to the crude oil refinery, a biorefinery would integrate a variety of conversion processes to produce multiple product streams such as motor fuels and other chemicals from biomass (Table B-30). In short, a biorefinery would combine the essential technologies to transform biological raw materials into a range of industrially useful intermediates. However, the type of biorefinery would have to be differentiated by the character of the feedstock.

Table B-30 Simplified representation of a biorefinery.