Concerns regarding petroleum depletion and global climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions have spurred interest in renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. Third-generation (3G) biorefineries aim to utilize microbial cell factories to convert renewable energies and atmospheric CO₂ into fuels and chemicals, and hence represent a route for assessing fuels and chemicals in a carbon-neutral manner. However, to establish processes competitive with the petroleum industry, it is important to clarify/evaluate/identify the most promising CO₂ fixation pathways, the most appropriate CO₂ utilization models and the necessary productivity levels. Here, we discuss the latest advances in 3G biorefineries. Following an overview of applications of CO₂ feedstocks, mainly from flue gas and waste gasification, we review prominent opportunities and barriers in CO₂ fixation and energy capture. We then summarize reported CO₂-based products and industries, and describe trends and key challenges for future advancement of 3G biorefineries.

对由温室气体排放引起的石油枯竭和全球气候变化的担忧激发了人们对化石燃料可再生替代品的兴趣。第三代（3G）生物精炼厂旨在利用微生物细胞工厂将可再生能源和大气中的CO ₂转化为燃料和化学物质，因此代表了一种以碳中和方式评估燃料和化学物质的途径。但是，要建立与石油行业竞争的流程，重要的是要弄清/评估/确定最有希望的CO ₂固定途径，最合适的CO ₂利用模型和必要的生产率水平。在这里，我们讨论3G生物精炼厂的最新进展。概述CO ₂的应用主要来自烟道气和废气气化的原料，我们回顾了CO ₂固定和能量捕获方面的重大机遇和障碍。然后，我们总结了报告的基于CO ₂的产品和行业，并描述了3G生物精炼厂未来发展的趋势和主要挑战。