| Hybrid conversion of biomass provides the key elements for the development of large-scale biorefineries which will produce fuels and materials. At this stage it is, however, not clear how typical biorefineries will look like because there is a multitude of technologies for the conversion and further processing of biomass and there are even more possibilities to combine them. The project will start with a thorough literature survey in order to identify the most important currently discussed biorefinery concepts. A pre-selection will then be made of biorefinery concepts that are particularly promising for China and Europe. To this end, suitable criteria will be defined, which may include, for example, high land use efficiency, water requirements and/or an optimized product portfolio. The application of hybrid biomass conversion in large-scale biorefineries will be successful only if these systems are economically preferable, superior in environmental terms and advantageous from a social point of view. The core task of the project will therefore be to conduct prospective comparative sustainability assessments for the pre-selected biorefinery concepts both for China and for Europe. This will require preparative methodological work. The empirical work will be iterative in nature and is expected to lead to new, optimized biorefinery concepts. In order to reach this goal, it will be necessary to involve experts from the agricultural sector and from industry (especially chemical industry). They will review repeatedly the alternative process chains and interim results of the sustainability assessments. The final task is to draw conclusions about the most promising biorefinery chains for the future in the two regions, their potentials and risks and the preconditions for successful implementation including, for example, the policy framework. Biorefinery concepts, comparative sustainability assessment, potentials, risks |
