Chapter 3 - Integrated thermochemical and biochemical processes for the production of biofuels and biochemicals

Abstract

Biomass has evolved as a promising renewable resource and an alternative to fossil resources. However, bio-based products have not yet fully reached into the society. The reason could be the lower cost competitiveness of bio-based products compared with fossil-based products. At the same time, there is also a stress on bio-based industries to improve resource efficiency. In that regard, building biorefineries by integrating various biomass valorization processes, to produce multiple products, and following cascading and circular use of resources could improve the overall competitiveness of bio-based products. In this view, integrating biomass thermal conversion processes with biochemical processes could be advantageous. In this chapter, different process integration approaches between thermochemical and biochemical conversion processes will be discussed. To be specific, the integration of pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, and gasification processes with fermentation and anaerobic digestion is presented. The opportunities and challenges together with the economic analysis of such processes are also discussed. Finally, the perspective thoughts in a view of circular bioeconomy are also presented.