Products
Products from the chemical, material and power industries have become an integral part of our daily lives and the projected demand for these products will increase. A general concern is the intensive usage of finite resources, in particular fossil resources, and, consequently, the industry is in the midst of reconsidering its current resource use. In this process, industrial research & development seems to (re)discover the variation of quality and specific functionalities in renewable resources as well.
By producing multiple products, a biorefinery can take advantage of the natural complexity and differences in biomass components and intermediates and therefore maximize the value derived from the biomass feedstock. A biorefinery might produce for example
- Chemical products (low-volume / high-value)
- Platform chemicals (high-volume / low-value)
- Liquid transport fuels
while generating power and heat for its own use, and likely enough for sale of electricity. High-value products enhance profitability; high-volume chemicals and/or transportation fuels help to meet European energy needs and CO2 emission reduction goals; power and heat both reduce overall production costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
