**5. The existing biorefinery systems in the world**

Progress in research on new, more efficient complex biomass processing methods in techno‐ logical and environmental way led to the development of new technologies to enable the construction of biorefinery systems. Detailed information in this field are presented in the International Energy Agency (IEA) report, "IEA Bioenergy Task 42, Biorefining: Sustainable and synergetic processing of biomass into marketable food & feed ingredient, chemical, materials and energy (fuels, power, heat)." IEA report defines biorefinery systems, which include systems that meet the basic functions, that is, the number and the name of the technology platforms, materials, processes, and expected products. Examples of applicable platforms in biorefinery systems are placed in Fig. 18.

of WtL ("wastes to liquid"). Feed for this type of installation can provide all kinds of waste oils: waste used frying oils, animal fats, grease, animal waste, etc. Oil fractions by lipid

The crude oil is converted by transesterification to the methyl ester or glycerol, by hydroge‐ nation into the liquid hydrocarbon (biodiesel), or by chemical and enzymatic modification in all kinds of oleochemical products, such as fatty acids, alcohols, fatty esters, fatty ketones, dimer acids, glycerine, etc. Wastes are converted by gasification into synthesis gas, resulting in a yield of energy and heat in cogeneration. Syngas may be further converted into transport

extraction and refining are converted into crude oil and waste.

**Figure 17.** Biorefinery perspective based on the raw waste (developed on the basis of [46])

Progress in research on new, more efficient complex biomass processing methods in techno‐ logical and environmental way led to the development of new technologies to enable the construction of biorefinery systems. Detailed information in this field are presented in the International Energy Agency (IEA) report, "IEA Bioenergy Task 42, Biorefining: Sustainable and synergetic processing of biomass into marketable food & feed ingredient, chemical, materials and energy (fuels, power, heat)." IEA report defines biorefinery systems, which include systems that meet the basic functions, that is, the number and the name of the technology platforms, materials, processes, and expected products. Examples of applicable

**5. The existing biorefinery systems in the world**

platforms in biorefinery systems are placed in Fig. 18.

fuels or chemicals by catalytic processes [48].

450 Biofuels - Status and Perspective

**Figure 18.** Examples of possible platforms in a biorefinery systems (according to IEA Bioenergy Task 42) [49]

The research in the field of the possibility of obtaining different kinds of products or chemical intermediates from biomass, so-called biochemicals, estimates the broad spectrum of these compounds, as shown in Fig. 19.

**Figure 19.** Portfolio of chemicals potentially to be produced from biomass (according to IEA Bioenergy Task 42) [49]

The result from the IEA report is that currently in the world, mainly in the pilot or demon‐ stration version, there are 80 plants which can be classified as more or less complex components of biorefinery systems. In terms of some paths proposed in these technology systems, fuller research will be necessary, especially in terms of quality of products planned to be obtained and their reproducibility. In particular, reproducibility and efficiency of individual develop‐ ment paths can be difficult to obtain, and the difficulty is due to the heterogeneity and diversity of biorefinery raw materials. Hence, most of the operating systems in the world are the oneplatform systems and two- or three-platform systems. Production processes planned or implemented in these systems are mainly for the obtaining of bioethanol, biomethanol, and less biomethane and a few types of biochemicals, including biodegradable monomers. One of the most interesting biorefinery plants is a pilot plant LanzaTech, New Zealand, in which the fermentation process of compressed syngas obtained by the gasification of waste wood and solid urban municipal waste (MSW) is conducted. Synthesis gas fermentation process is carried out to obtain bioethanol, and regardless of this process, in a separate technology path, from the recovery of CO, CO2, and H2 from syngas fermentation process, it is planned to receive a hydrocarbons from C2 to C5, as a potential biofuel components and/or biochemicals, including again the ethanol and acetic acid (ethanoic), C2; isopropanol and acetone (dimethylketone), C3; and 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO), butane, isobutane, and succinic acid (1,4-butanedioic), C4, and isoprene, C5. A block diagram of this plant is shown in Fig. 20.

**Figure 20.** Block diagram of the installation LanzaTech in New Zealand (according to IEA Bioenergy Task 42) [49]

The diagram also shows the power unit which is used to supply heat and power to the plant in the biorefinery system. This block is supplied by different types of raw materials than technological resources, but also coming from renewable sources or waste substances.

Interesting system is proposed by the company Avantium Chemicals B.V. from the Nether‐ lands. In this three-platform system (C5 and C6 sugars and lignin) is proposed to receive a perspective and very interesting furan fuels, polymers and monomers (furan dicarboxylic acid, furan diamine), fine and specialty chemicals (organic acids, solvents, flavors and fragrances), and solid fuels (humans and lignin residues). The raw material for the installation proposed by Avantium is generally defined lignocellulosic material (cellulose, hemicellulose, starch, and sucrose), contained in the various sources. The essence of the proposed process is to develop the technology for obtaining derivatives of furan with catalytic processes of dehydration/ etherification of carbohydrates. These derivatives can be compiled as a replacement for the relevant petroleum production of biofuels, plastics, and biochemicals. At the same time, it is possible to use emerging process residues, with the possible addition of biomass (and also coal) to produce heat and electricity, while technological processes used the resulting excess of steam and heat. As already mentioned, there are a number of streams of raw materials, possible to use in the proposed process. It may be waste from the food industry; corn stover (possibly other straw); grass, including the grass from the city greenery; as well as bagasse and municipal waste (from the households). An important and perspective solution is possible conversion of C6 sugars (glucose, mannose, galactose, and fructose) and C5 sugars (xylose and arabinose) to the derivatives of very promising chemical intermediate which is hydroxyme‐ thylfurfural (HMF), which is inter alia an intermediate for the preparation of DMF (2,5 dimethylfuran), the perspective biofuel, and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), which can be used as a replacement to terephthalic acid (TA) [49].
