Biorefineries in circular bioeconomy: A comprehensive review

Aristotle T Ubando; Charles B Felix; Wei-Hsin Chen

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122585

Biorefineries in circular bioeconomy: A comprehensive review

Bioresour Technol. 2020 Mar:299:122585. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122585. Epub 2019 Dec 10.

Authors

Aristotle T Ubando¹, Charles B Felix², Wei-Hsin Chen³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan; Mechanical Engineering Department, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, 0922 Manila, Philippines.
² Mechanical Engineering Department, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, 0922 Manila, Philippines.
³ Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan; Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, Tunghai University, Taichung 407, Taiwan; Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung 411, Taiwan; Research Center for Energy Technology and Strategy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan. Electronic address: weihsinchen@gmail.com.

PMID: 31901305
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122585

Abstract

Biorefinery is a sustainable means of generating multiple bioenergy products from various biomass feedstocks through the incorporation of relevant conversion technologies. With the increased attention of circular economy in the past half-decade with the emphasis of holistically addressing economic, environmental, and social aspects of the industrial-sector, biorefinery acts as a strategic mechanism for the realization of a circular bioeconomy. This study presents a comprehensive review of different biorefinery models used for various biomass feedstocks such as lignocelluloses, algae, and numerous waste-types. The review focuses on how biorefinery is instrumental in the transition of various biomass-based industries in a circular bioeconomy. The results reveal that the social-economic aspect of the industrial sector has a major influence on the full adoption of biorefineries in circular bioeconomy. Biomass wastes have played a major role in the implementation of biorefinery in circular bioeconomy. The current challenges are also presented along with future perspectives.

Keywords: Bioeconomy; Biorefinery; Circular economy; Life-cycle assessment; Lignocellulosic and algal biomass; Techno-economic analysis; Waste.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biofuels*
Biomass

Substances

Biofuels