The heavy reliance of the livestock industry of the European Union (EU) on feed protein imports has initiated a transition to alternative protein sources such as grass proteins. Green biorefineries (which process grass into protein and other related bio‐products) are gaining interest in the EU as the EU searches for ways to cut its import of feed proteins, to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, and

Broccoli offers several health benefits due to its high content of bioactive compounds, especially sulforaphane – a promising anticancer compound. In Chile, the broccoli crop is expanding rapidly, creating opportunities to industrialize this vegetable and exploit its functional properties. Various processes have been studied with the aim of maximizing the sulforaphane content in processed broccoli

A low‐cost recycling system for the production of pectinase was built to improve the yield and quality of Muzao date juice and to reduce production costs. An Aspergillus niger strain, Gyx086, was selected from 20 A. niger strains on potato agar plates containing Muzao date residues, and the strain was used to produce an enzyme cocktail with high pectinase activity using Muzao date residues as the medium

The aim of this study is to convert organosolv‐treated bamboo into biobutanol hydrolyzed by lignocellulosic enzyme mixtures produced on site through solid state fermentation (SSF). Higher xylanase and β‐xylosidase activity in crude hydrolytic enzyme mixtures produced from untreated bamboo under SSF contributed to a higher saccharification yield (76.1%) than commercial ones (67.3%). The modified organosolv

Beer production generates brewer's spent grain as a byproduct. This biomass contains lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose, and can be used for the production of second‐generation (2G) ethanol and xylitol. For this to be economically viable, fermentable fractions must be used, allowing the conversion of cellulose and hemicellulose to ethanol. This study evaluated the fermentation of hemicellulose liquor

Hydrolysis lignin (HL) refers to a lignin‐rich residue obtained after the enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass. It is recalcitrant, heterogeneous, insoluble in most common solvents, and less reactive than other lignins. To enhance the reactivity of HL, a novel environmentally friendly depolymerization approach was demonstrated to produce depolymerized hydrolysis lignin (DHL) using Kraft cooking liquor,

Excessive cultivation of maize (Zea mays L.) as a biogas substrate has fired debate about potential land‐use change effects of bioenergy cropping systems. Cup plant ( Silphium perfoliatum L.) is a perennial biogas crop that provides more environmental services than maize. This study investigated (i) how to replace maize with cup plant as a biogas substrate in a large‐scale biogas plant located in southwest

Focusing on the development of Italy's nutraceutical industry, one of Europe's largest, this study offers a process and bioeconomy perspective that will be useful to countries willing to establish their own national dietary supplement industry as a key industrial asset in their economies. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

In this article we explore the quantitative challenges posed by the intended circular biobased economy. To do this, we present the relative sizes, in terms of mass and energy, of the agro‐food and fossil production system, and the interrelations in the system of transformation to food, feed, materials, and energy. We deduce that the flows in the fossil system are of a comparable magnitude to the agricultural

The efficient use of lignocellulosic biomass for the production of advanced fuels and bio‐based materials has become increasingly relevant. In the EU, regulatory developments are stimulating the mobilization and production of bio‐based chemicals / materials and biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass. We used an attributional life‐cycle assessment approach based on region‐specific characteristics to

Hemicellulose is a polymer found abundantly in lignocellulosic feedstocks, with many potential market applications. However, there has yet to be a large‐scale commercial process to isolate hemicellulose from lignocellulosic biomass. A techno‐economic assessment for hemicellulose extraction from sugarcane bagasse, switchgrass, and poplar was made. Two isolation processes after alkaline extraction were

Waste management via thermochemical processing is gaining increasing importance as larger volumes of solid waste are generated yearly. The poultry industry generates a variety of wastes, of which the largest stream in terms of volume is the litter. In this study, three thermodynamic models were developed on ASPEN Plus v8.8 for pyrolysis, in‐line steam reforming, and gasification of poultry litter.

In this study, process simulation and techno‐economic analysis (TEA) were conducted to evaluate the production of renewable jet fuel (RJF) through the pyrolysis‐to‐RJF process. The process model was developed based on experimental results for the renewable jet fuel production process using the fast pyrolysis of rice husk, hydro‐processing of pyrolytic oil, and hydro‐cracking / isomerization of hydro‐processed

Brazil is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world with most of its emissions coming from the land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sector. New commitments have been set by the Paris Agreement and are reflected in the country's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The Brazilian NDC has three main pillars to reduce emissions: increasing the share of biomass in the

The urgency with which the world economy needs to be decarbonized could lead to the emergence of regions with the capacity to produce renewable feedstock such as biomass. The competitiveness of these regions could result from their ability to produce high value‐added chemicals at the lowest cost. The biomass embodied in a chemical product could reduce carbon emissions, leading to net CO2 removal. The

The pretreatment of biomass and the subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis to sugars play an important role in the production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass. However, the influence of pretreatment and hydrolysis yields on the production pathway performance of biofuels is rarely researched from the beginning. Moreover, a clear trade‐off between economic efficiency and environmental impact exists

The gap between global energy production and consumption is increasing at a fast pace along with population growth, industrialization, and technological developments, resulting in a rapid increase in the need for energy. This has led countries to use their own resources more effectively. Consequently, in addition to existing energy sources, alternative solutions are now being sought for this problem

This study analyzed the techno‐economic feasibility of a biomass conversion process enabled by high‐solid loading deep eutectic solvent (DES) pretreatment for the co‐production of 2,3‐butanediol (BDO), furfural, and technical lignin. Aspen plus was used for process simulation; economic analysis models were developed to evaluate commercial potential; sensitivity analysis was carried out to evaluate

Xylitol was produced by Scheffersomyces amazonensis UFMG‐HMD‐26.3 in hemicellulosic hydrolysate obtained from a mixture of sugarcane bagasse and straw (1:1) in batch fermentation, and was recovered using supercritical fluid. The xylitol produced was 20.11 g L−1 and the extraction approach reached a xylitol recovery of 40.51% at a high purity level of 99.59%. An analysis of energy consumption for the

The consumption and production of biodiesel has grown dramatically in recent decades, motivated by a strong interest in renewable energy. This has generated a surplus of its main by‐product, glycerol. Several catalytic processes have been proposed to generate alternatives for using this excess glycerol, mainly focusing on its transformation into high value‐added chemical products. Various products

Organosolv fractionation (OF) is a promising method for lignocellulosic biomass biorefining to produce biofuels, biochemicals, and biomaterials. The fractionated polymeric components may be good feedstocks to produce bio‐based materials such as green polymers via chemical or biological conversion. However, related work to specify the bio‐based materials production via organosolv fractionation of lignocellulosic

Limited supplies of fossil fuels have led to a search for alternative sources of fuel to drive economic growth. Maize, and especially the grain portion, has been utilized to a large extent for biofuel production while the abundant lignocellulosic portion has remained underexplored owing to its recalcitrant nature. The diversion of grain for bioethanol production has consequences for food security.

The differences between a biorefinery and an oil refinery are determined by the higher oxygen content of the biorefinery's biomass, its high degree of functionalization, its low thermal stability, its polar components, which are mostly acidic, its highly heterogeneous structure, and its quality variation as result of genotypic and phenotypic characteristics. Levulinic acid (LA) is one of the main high

The cellulosic component of lignocellulosic biomass can be converted to commercially valuable platform chemicals through pyrolysis provided it is effectively controlled and optimized. This review first discusses the underpinning kinetics and mechanism of cellulose pyrolysis to identify target platform chemicals. Platform chemicals like 5‐hydroxymethyl furfural, 5‐chloromethyl furfural, and levoglucosenone

Plant biomass residues are renewable sources for the production of biofuels and high‐value macromolecules. Sugarcane bagasse is one such plant biomass residue that is available from the sugar‐processing industry. It is used as a raw material for biobased ethanol production. However, some of its properties and its behavior during processing have a major inhibitory effect on its successful conversion

The microbial production of organic acids has become a rapidly developing field due to their increasing global market. Recently, research has transitioned towards employing synthetic microbial consortia for organic acid production. Compared with pure cultures, microbial co‐cultures can perform more complex functions and endure more changeable environments. Accordingly, microbial co‐cultivation technologies

This article investigates the level of penetration and barriers to the uptake, of anaerobic digestion technology in 16 Caribbean different territories. All countries considered are small island developing states (SIDS), and face a similar challenge of energy security. Anaerobic digestion technology could be a viable option for a number of these nations to help address this issue of energy security

There is a lack of widespread interest in slow pyrolysis biochar pathways relative to other bioenergy pathways because of the perceived absence of biochar's market value when produced at a commercial scale. Thus, most refereed techno‐economic analyses focus on fast pyrolysis. This study quantifies the carbon price point at which the economic feasibility of the slow‐pyrolysis pathway for biochar production

Kraft lignin valorization is the cornerstone for the establishment of biorefineries based on residual fractions from the pulping processes. From the precipitation process to depolymerization, various strategies have emerged, all focused on obtaining high yields or higher purity monomers. The strategy used in this study was to modify the structure of the precipitated Kraft lignin with different oxidative

An integrated multi‐feedstock bioenergy (i.e., biofuel, biopower, or bioproduct) supply system has potential to reduce biomass supply system uncertainties and costs. This study identifies optimal configurations of multi‐feedstock biomass‐to‐biorefinery supply chains and pertinent feedstock combinations based on spatial distribution of feedstock and lowest delivered cost to the biorefinery. We used

The characterization of the physical–chemical properties and the thermal behavior of oilseed fruits for biofuels production has gained interest in the scientific community and society more generally, in particular with regard to their use as partial replacements for fossil fuels and for the possible reduction of air pollutants that cause problems for human health, animals, and plants. These oilseed

Orange orchards are typical Mediterranean crops and a major feature of the heritage of the Mediterranean basin, where they play an important environmental and economic role. Their high availability, low price, and potential industrial application make the development of new and valuable uses of the orange's biomass of high interest. This research was focused: (i) on recognition and mapping of orange

Agricultural straw is abundant worldwide, but efficient production of lactic acid from straw is still challenging. In this paper, Trichoderma viride R16 was cultivated using corncob as the substrate in a fed‐batch process, after which the enzymes from T. viride R16 broth were analyzed through protein mass spectrometry and used for lactic acid production. Dioxygenase activity was found in the T. viride

Crop yield modeling is critical in the design of national strategies for agricultural production, particularly in the context of a changing climate. Forecasting yields of bioenergy crops at fine spatial resolutions can help to evaluate near‐term and long‐term pathways for scaling up bio‐based fuel and chemical production, and for understanding the impacts of abiotic stressors such as severe droughts

Electrode and electrolyte materials with higher performance, longer life, and lower cost need to be developed, given the substantial growing demand for advanced electrochemical energy systems. Lignin, the second most abundant natural polymer, has been successfully demonstrated to be a viable precursor or feedstock for the preparation of high‐performance electrochemical energy materials and components

Over the past century, the world's population has increased greatly. The growth in the population has increased the global food demand, so the food sector has increased its production. As a result of the increased production and consumption, a huge amount of agro‐food waste is being generated yearly. Rice husk, wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse, corn husk, peanut shell, eggshell, are just a few examples

Succinic acid is an industrially important platform chemical that could be used as precursor for the establishment of a sustainable chemical industry. Due to the depletion of crude oil and the need for sustainable development, the biological production of succinic acid from renewable resources has attracted wide attention. To establish an economical bio‐based succinic acid production process, various

The biological production of succinic acid has attracted a great deal of attention due to the depletion of fossil fuels and concerns regarding environmental issues. As a natural producer of succinic acid, Actinobacillus succinogenes is one of the most promising candidates owning to its high production capability, wide carbon utilization spectrum, and robustness to environmental factors. This review

This paper focuses on the optimal performance of a small tri‐generation power, heat, and cooling plant, which uses corn stover as the feedstock. First, 100 kg h−1 of the corn stover is converted into syngas by the gasification process, using a downdraft fixed‐bed reactor at gasification temperatures reaching 995 °C and with an oxidant–fuel ratio of 1.65. About 243.18 kg h−1 of product gas mass flow

Catalytic gasification of a residual biomass, obtained from yellow horn (YH) (Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge), an energy crop, was conducted to obtain a fuel gas rich in hydrogen. Unsupported nickel‐based catalyst modified with cerium was developed, characterized, and used in the advanced catalytic gasification of this residual biomass, using H2O + CO2 as the gasifying agent. Tests were performed in

In this article we address the environmental assessment of the coprocessing of biomass‐based feedstock in crude oil refineries. In particular, we consider the coprocessing of bio‐oil (from the pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass) in fluid catalytic cracking and hydrocracking units, and the cogasification of pyrolysis char (coproduced with bio‐oil) with coke. In addition to a conventional fossil‐based

In this work, a solvent‐based extraction procedure and a procedure using supercritical CO2 to obtain β‐carotene from Dunaliella salina were compared from environmental and economic perspectives. Both processes were simulated using a biorefinery scheme in which β‐carotene was obtained and the waste biomass was used to produce energy. The results were used to carry out a life‐cycle assessment (LCA).

The sugar yield achieved during pretreatment of lignocelluloses has an impact on the economic outcome of biorefineries. Chemical and physiochemical pretreatment methods were evaluated and compared to determine the most favorable pretreatment method for the commercial co‐production of succinic acid and electricity in a sugarcane lignocellulosic biorefinery. Nine methods were identified and simulated

Olive pomace is characterized by its low nutritional value and high phenolic content, which hinders its direct use as animal feed, fertilizer, or as a substrate in bioprocesses such as solid‐state fermentation (SSF). A possible strategy for bioprocessing olive pomace by SSF is the mixture of olive mill wastes with other wastes produced in the same region, such as winery wastes. This may improve the

Technical lignins are bulk feedstocks. They are generated as byproducts from pulping or cellulosic ethanol production. Since lignin undergoes significant structural changes in the chemical and physical treatments, all technical lignins are unique in terms of chemical structure, molecular weight, polydispersity, and impurity profile. Kraft lignin is potentially the largest source of technical lignin