Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
area, but as biorefineries become more and more sophisticated with time, other
products will be developed. In some types of biorefinery, food and feed produc-
tion may also be incorporated.
According to the Joint European Biorefinery Vision for 2030 [33], a significant
proportion of the overall European demand for chemicals, energy and materials
will be met using biomass as a feedstock by 2030:
• 30% of overall chemical production is expected to be bio-based in nature by this
date (for high-added-value chemicals and polymers, the proportion might even
be >50%);
• 25% of Europe's transport energy needs will be supplied by biofuels, with advanced
fuels (and in particular bio-based jet fuels) taking an increasing share; and
• 30% of Europe's heat and power generation will be derived from biomass.
1.5.2
Different Types of Biorefinery
Three different types of biorefinery have been described in the literature [34, 35]:
• Phase I biorefinery (single feedstock, single process and single major product);
• Phase II biorefinery (single feedstock, multiple processes and multiple major
products); and
• Phase III biorefinery (multiple feedstocks, multiple processes and multiple
major products).
1.5.2.1
Phase I Biorefinery
Phase I biorefineries use only one feedstock, have fixed processing capabilities
(single process) and have a single major product. They are already in operation
and have proven to be economically viable. In Europe, there are now many phase
I biorefineries producing biodiesel [36]. They use vegetable oil (mainly rapeseed
oil in the EU) as a feedstock and produce fixed amounts of biodiesel and glycer-
ine through a single process called transesterification (see Figure 1.5). They have
almost no flexibility to recover investment and operating costs. Other examples
of phase I biorefinery include today's pulp and paper mills and corn grain-to-
ethanol plants.
Methanol+catalyst
Single process
Rape seed
Single feedstock
Crushing
Tr ansesterification
Biodiesel
Single major product
Meal
Glycerine
Figure 1.5
The biodiesel process: an example of a phase I biorefinery.
