Combined basic and fine chemical biorefinery concepts with integration of processes at different technology readiness levels

Book chapter, 2018

Biorefineries offer promising alternatives to the use of fossil fuels to produce energy and chemicals. This work describes the development of a biorefinery concept to produce adipic acid from Swedish forest residues and lutein from micro-algae. A description is provided for each process line available, its technology readiness level (TRL) and the tools available to model it. Scenarios of the integrated concept are built with associated material flow analysis. Key results of the material inventory of the base case scenario are presented as well as insights into the development of further scenarios. Material flow inventories can then be further used for economic and environmental assessment. Major challenges of integration are discussed in terms of uncertainties and data gaps for processes with low TRL such as scaling up lab experiments, understanding the restrictions of material recycling and its impact on process performance. The feedback given through these scenarios can help guide further experimental efforts.