ABSTRACT
Section I of this book has shown how biomass replacement of fossil fuels is driven by various drivers: shortage of cheap oil, climate change, dependence on a few oil-exporting countries, and the need for (rural) development. Large additional volumes of biomass will be required, possibly causing increasing food and commodity prices, and undesired competition with production of food, feed, paper and so on. It may also have profound environmental implications including loss of (boreal and rain) forests, biodiversity, soil productivity, and (fresh) water availability. Efficient and sustainable use of biomass resources, which is of paramount importance, can be enhanced by the use of biorefinery processes and their products, which will form the foundation of a future biobased economy. The ultimate goal should not just be to efficiently and sustainably make use of biomass for non-food applications. It should also encompass increasing availability of biomass for non-food applications by improved food chain efficiency in industrialized countries (Figure 7.1).
