Reflection on the research on and implementation of biorefinery systems – a systematic literature review with a focus on feedstock

Abstract

Te concept of sustainably processing biomass into a spectrum of products and bioenergy is thousands of years old. Large‐scale utilization of such processes existed in the 19th century and the term biorefinery first appeared in the late 20th century. This review addresses how different feedstock classes, products, and regions have been described in the scientific literature on the development of biorefineries (1999–2017). The results of a systematic literature review were compared with information included in two reports on the implementation of biorefineries to identify similarities and differences between theory (described in the literature) and practice (carried out in industry). The number of scientific articles per year on this topic has increased over the last decade, particularly in the fields of natural sciences and engineering. The first authors of these articles are primarily affiliated with North American and European institutions. References to lignocellulosic raw materials (especially residues, but also dedicated crops) in the feedstock are by far the most frequent and those to aquatic biomass have also increased over time. Most of the products mentioned are related to energy products (mainly fuels), and the heterogeneous class of chemicals was also strongly represented. We examined two reports on existing biorefineries in Europe and identified differences between the roles of food‐crop‐based biorefineries and lignocellulosic‐feedstock biorefineries in terms of research and practice. New studies on the practical implementation of biorefineries should be carried out, with particular attention to these discrepancies. © 2019 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.