Marine biorefinery: an environmentally sustainable solution to turn marine biomass and processing wastes into value-added products and profits

Abstract

A major shift from a fossil fuel-based economy, dependent upon finite resources, towards a renewable biomass-based bioeconomy is occurring rapidly due to growing awareness and global demand for sustainable energy, food and a myriad of other products. While terrestrial biomass is perhaps the obvious feedstock for a ‘green bioeconomy’, largely untapped marine biomass presents greater potential to drive sustainable products development via a ‘blue bioeconomy’