D 2.1.1 Note on literature review concerning market ... - Biorefinery

Biopol - Deliverable <strong>2.1.1</strong>
1. Introduction
Currently crude oil refineries produce a variety of products for almost all areas of life with a high
efficiency. The used fossil feedstock is still relatively cheap and in arbitrary quantities available. But it
can be observed that the costs of fossil oil strongly increased in recent years and concerns about the
security of the oil supply grow on a national and global scale. Additionally an increasing awareness of
negative environmental effects of carbon dioxide emissions exists in public. This triple bottom line of
environmental, economic and political drivers leads to a need to re-examine the petrochemical
industry. It is proposed to develop comparable biorefineries making it possible to produce bio-based
products, which can compete with their crude-oil-based equivalents. Especially this comparison of
crude oil and biomass has lead to the fact that for possible converting plants for biomass the term
“biorefinery” is used (Wagner 2005, NNFC 2005). New approaches are necessary for research,
development and manufacturing in order to move away successfully from the use of fossil feedstock to
production based on renewable raw materials.
This report intends to give a literature overview over the market introduction and development of
biorefinery concepts in industry. As it is impossible to deal with all industries, which possibly could
use biorefinery concepts, thus the focus is set on the following four economically important and
promising sectors:
• Chemical industry
• Pulp and paper industry
• Starch and sugar industry
• Biofuels industry
In the following the structure of each of these branches is described by giving an overview over its
size, production, actors, employment etc. Moreover the ongoing bio-refinery/bio-based activities of
each sector are analysed in the report.
2. Methodology
The market introduction and development of biorefinery concepts and related products is analysed in
this literature overview with desk research instruments. For this purpose existing sources and
information related to the market introduction and development are collected and evaluated. Therefore
literature and database searches are made as well as internet searches. Additionally, available
statistical information of the associations of the relevant industry branches (e.g. CEPI, CEFS etc.) and
of governments (e.g. EUROSTAT, DESTATIS) is analysed on a national, EU and a wider
international level.
3. Market development of biorefinery concepts
Bio-based products are understood as "commercial or industrial products (other than food or feed) that
are composed in whole or in significant parts of biological products or renewable domestic agricultural
materials (including plant, animal and marine materials) or forestry materials" (Office of the Federal
Environmental Executive 2007).
In the following chapters four industry branches (chemical-, forestry-, starch/ sugar- and the biofuels
industry) are described which produce many of such products and which could adopt very well the
innovative biorefinery concept in their existing production system. In the first part of chapter 3 the
Industrial White Biotechnology (IWBT) is described which covers the four industry branches in the
“bio-based field”.
Market introduction and development of biorefinery concepts and related products
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