ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to present a heuristic approach related with the design of a biorefinery system using the hierarchy, sequencing, and integration concepts. It presents these concepts as a conceptual tool that allows proposing the better route to convert different types of feedstocks into the desired products through the application of current technologies and strategies for its optimal implementation. These concepts are interlinked, and their combination allows a process synthesis approach to obtain global biorefinery models. The hierarchical decomposition is critical because it affects directly the sequence concept interlinking each other. The conceptual design promotes an approach based on an inclusive design of biorefineries, where new challenges are assumed such as the inclusion of a wide range of feedstocks and the development of local and regional areas. Three types of analysis are included in the conceptual design of a biorefinery: technical, economic, and environmental analyses.
