Preface

Will fossil resources continue to lead the way for the industrial development of the future? Indeed, some countries are considering their energetic and material strategies based only on economic aspects.

However, sustainable development moves a step further, thinks ahead, and deals wisely with the availability of bioresources beyond our children's children. Circular economy is not a hype; it is an imperative necessity.

Society needs to deal urgently with pollution, global warming, overpopulation, urban sprawl, natural resource depletion, waste disposal, climate change, loss of biodiversity, de‐ forestation, ocean acidification, ozone layer depletion, acid rain, water pollution, and public health issues.

*Renewable Resources and Biorefineries* is part of the solution.

This specialist book for renewable resources and biorefineries is intended to stimulate the transition from a fossil-based to the biobased economy.

**Eduardo Jacob-Lopes and Leila Queiroz Zepka**

Federal University of Santa Maria Santa Maria, Brazil

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**Introductory Chapter: Renewable Resources and**

**Introductory Chapter: Renewable Resources and** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.81922

In the face of global challenges, strategies to reduce and replace fossil resources towards a sustainable bio-based economy have been developed in several countries across the globe [1]. These challenges include rapid depletion of fossil resources, growing global population, climate change, energy security, food and water security and soil destruction. In this sense, the long-term objectives to achieve the global bioeconomy will be to ensure food and health security, make energy provision more sustainable, explore renewable resources, make the

Although there are many viewpoints about bioeconomy, the notion itself is quite straightforward. Basically, the bioeconomy is the strategy that utilizes 'green' materials instead of fossilbased materials to generate bioenergy, chemicals, food, feed and other bio-based products, with a low or no generation of waste. Within such an economy, sustainability and the efficient use of resources are the key components of its implementation at the social and industrial level [3, 4]. Apart from its ecological impact, bioeconomy is also intended to have socioeconomic benefits such as fostering economic competitiveness, meeting rising demand and counteracting resource depletion [5]. The concept of bioeconomy is quite broad and can encompass a range of sustainability strategies, such as biorefineries, that were defined by the International Energy Agency [6] as a sustainable processing of biomass into a spectrum of marketable products.

All resources containing non-fossil organic carbon, recently (<100 years) derived from agriculture (dedicated crops and residues), forestry, industries (process residues and leftovers), households (municipal solid waste and wastewaters) and aquaculture (algae and seaweeds), are considered bio-based resources or also called biomass. Biomass can also be classified into

more efficient use of resources and produce new bio-based materials [2].

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**Biorefineries**

**1. Introduction**

**Biorefineries**

Mariana Manzoni Maroneze,

and Eduardo Jacob-Lopes

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81922

Leila Queiroz Zepka and Eduardo Jacob-Lopes

Mariana Manzoni Maroneze, Leila Queiroz Zepka

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

#### **Introductory Chapter: Renewable Resources and Biorefineries Introductory Chapter: Renewable Resources and Biorefineries**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.81922

Mariana Manzoni Maroneze, Leila Queiroz Zepka and Eduardo Jacob-Lopes Mariana Manzoni Maroneze, Leila Queiroz Zepka and Eduardo Jacob-Lopes

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81922
