ABSTRACT
According to a definition of the International Energy Agency Bioenergy Task 42 on Biorefineries, biorefining is the sustainable processing of biomass into a spectrum of marketable bio-based products, and bioenergy (Sanders et al., 2010). This concept is driven by two main aims, the substitution of fossil resources through renewable ones for the production of chemicals and transportation fuels, and the efforts made in connection with reducing greenhouse gas emissions through a change from crude oil as feedstock to renewable biomass. In addition to these two arguments always taken as the main justifications for an orientation toward a more biomass-based economy, there are some other aspects fostering this movement. They include an improvement of the public image of Chemistry in general and the Chemical Industry in particular, and the availability of (high value) compounds not obtainable via the traditional petrochemical route, thereby enlarging the portfolio of marketable products. Supportive policy measures as in the case of liquid biofuels are required to realize the ambitious aim to increase the value of bio-based chemicals to between 12% and 20% of the entire chemical production (excluding pharmaceuticals) until 2015.
