Biorefineries: Industrial Innovation and Tendencies

Abstract

Biological processes like fermentation processes for cheese, beer or wine have been used since ancient time until nowadays with the development of biorefineries as a hub of technologies for obtaining a different range of final products. This chapter analysed the development of bioprocesses to treat organic wastes over time to achieve the current biorefinery industry, with a focus on collaborations, partnerships and joint ventures between different industries and sectors. The classification of biorefineries was done by the origin of the raw material used as a feed stock, classifying them in first, second and third generation. Starting with the production of ethanol using crops, nowadays more sophisticated technologies relying on genetic engineering tools are used to achieve higher-value compounds, such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food industry commodities and chemical building blocks to make the biorefinery technologies profitable.