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In this paper, a troubleshooting technique is developed to provide a sequence of necessary actions during deodorizer unit failure in a palm oil refinery. This paper introduces a fuzzy expert system that incorporates the knowledge of experienced plant workers in dealing with the complex problems of the palm oil deodorizer. The presented methodology uses both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data are collected from several interview sessions with the technical staff in a palm oil refinery. Quantitative data are gathered from various sources, such as control and monitoring systems. The qualitative data are analyzed to discover the possible pattern of faults in the deodorizer failure. This tool can diagnose possible faults and provide a sequence of necessary actions when deodorizer failure occurs. The obtained results show the developed deodorizer troubleshooting tool is useful to guide plant workers/operators in diagnosing the possible faults and abnormalities during the troubleshooting process, as well as to provide field training for inexperienced staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an economic analysis of the GoBiGas plant, which is a first‐of‐its‐kind industrial installation for advanced biofuel production (ABP) via gasification, in which woody biomass is converted to biomethane. A previous technical evaluation of the demonstration unit confirmed that it is technically feasible to construct advanced biofuel production plants, using commercially available and widely used components. Thus, significant cost reductions for equipment cannot be expected as a consequence of learning effects. However, the equipment itself accounted for <20% of the total investment cost at GoBiGas and there exists the potential to reduce the production cost through learning how to assemble the process and reduce project‐specific costs. The analysis shows that a plant with capacity of 200 MW of biomethane is an attractive scale for future stand‐alone ABP plants with respect to limiting the production cost. For a 200‐MW ABP plant operated using forest residues as fuel, the production cost for biomethane is estimated at approximately 600 SEK/MWh, (60€/MWh, 75US$/MWh), which is equivalent to 5.4 SEK/liter gasoline [0.54 €/liter, or 2.5USD per gallon (9.9 SEK/€, 8 SEK/USD)], where the feedstock accounts for about 36% of the production cost. The most significant uncertainty factors pertaining to the estimated production costs are expected to relate to: trade conditions; the location of the installation; and the local price of feedstock. Thus, there is some potential for implementing cost‐competitive ABP systems of smaller capacity if low‐grade feedstocks (eg, waste‐derived woody biomass) can be utilized, and/or if the unit can be integrated with the already existing infrastructure. In this paper, we describe an economic analysis of the GoBiGas plant, which is a first‐of‐its‐kind industrial installation for advanced biofuel production (ABP) via gasification, in which woody biomass is converted to biomethane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on the effects of research and innovation in agriculture have been largely characterised by efforts to make a connection between expenditure and productivity. A number of issues have challenged the ability of productivity to measure the effects of research, namely, in recent years, increasing efforts towards improving the environmental performance of the farming sector. Besides environmental concerns, however, a number of recent concepts have emerged that are shaping the current research and policy agenda and which could result in a revision of the productivity concepts used to evaluate research impacts. The objective of this paper is to discuss these issues and their implications for studies on the impact of research and innovation. We address, in particular, the following issues: a) the development of the of bioeconomy and related concepts such as the circular economy, resource efficiency and bio-refinery; b) the connection with entrepreneurship and eco-innovation; c) changing tools in research assessment, in particular the widespread use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); and d) the evolving concepts of sustainability and ecosystem services. We argue that while the traditional notion of productivity, intended as output/input ratio, maintains (and may be strengthens) its role on the aggregate, a more analytical interpretation of the pathways towards research impacts is needed, as well as a broadened view of productivity and its determinants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Levulinic acid (LA) has been ranked as one of the "Top 10" building blocks for future bio-refineries as proposed by the US Department of Energy. It is considered one of the most important platform molecules for the production of fine chemicals and fuels based on its compatibility with existing processes, market economics, and industrial ability to serve as a platform for the synthesis of important derivatives. Hydrogenation of LA to produce -valerolactone (GVL) is an active area of research due to the potential of GVL to be used as a biofuel in its own right and for its subsequent transformation into hydrocarbon fuels. This paper contains a new design for a simple, cost effective, and safe hydrogenation reactor for the transformation of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone (GVL) by utilizing high boiling point organic fluid. The hydrogenation reactor is composed of a heating source--organic fluid (called "DOWTHERM A" or "thermex") and the catalytic reactor. The advantages of high boiling temperature fluids, along with advances in hydrocracking and reforming technologies driven by the oil and gas industries, make the organic concept more suitable and safer (water coming in contact with liquid metal is well understood in the metallurgical industry to be a steam explosion hazard) for heating the hydrogenation reactor. COMSOL multi-physics software version 4.3b was applied in this work and simultaneously solves the continuity, Navier-Stokes (fluid flow), energy (heat transfer), and diffusion with chemical reaction kinetics equations. It was shown that the heat flux supplied by the DOWTHERM A organic fluid could provide the necessary heat flux required for maintaining the hydrogenation process. It was found that the mass fractions of hydrogen and levulinic acid decreased along the reactor axis. The GVL mass fraction increased along the reactor axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multistage process was employed to obtain value-added products from brewer's spent grain (BSG). This paper is focused on the production and characterisation of cellulose nano-fibres (CNF) as one of the products obtained during the complete process. In the first stage, protein-rich liquor was separated via the alkaline (NaOH) treatment of dried BSG and stored for further utilisation. In the second stage, bleaching treatments were conducted to separate cellulose, which was later converted to CNF by high-pressure homogenisation. The lignocellulosic product from each step was analysed for its chemical composition by means of alkaline hydrolysis combined with the HPEAC method. The thermal properties were measured using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) was done to observe changes in crystallinity. The nano-cellulose produced can be regarded as a value-added material from the bio-refinery of BSG along with numerous already-reported products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Glycerol-consuming Y. lipolytica can utilize glucose for efficient SA production. • First study for utilizing organic MSW in SA production by Y. lipolytica at low pH. • The highest SA yield of 0.61 g/g ever reported by yeast at low pH was achieved. • Fed-batch fermentation using waste hydrolysate at pH 2.8 resulted in 71.6 g/L SA. • Low pH SA production led to economic improvement and environmental sustainability. This paper presents an efficient, green and sustainable approach for succinic acid (SA) fermentation, in which glucose-rich hydrolysates from various waste streams were used as the substrate for SA production by Yarrowia lipolytica without pH control for the first time. First, Y. lipolytica PGC202 was found to be able to consume glucose-rich mixed food waste (MFW) hydrolysate for SA production with high efficiency. After medium optimization, a SA titer at 31.7 g/L with a yield of 0.52 g/g and productivity of 0.60 g/L/h was obtained from is FBB fermentation when using 60 g/L glucose-containing MFW hydrolysate as the carbon source supplemented with 3% tryptone. When glucose-rich hydrolysate from other waste streams was used, the highest SA yield of 0.61 g/g via yeast fermentation at low pH was achieved, which demonstrated the extensive substrate adaptability and great potential of Y. lipolytica. By feeding concentrated MFW hydrolysate, SA titer up to 71.6 g/L was achieved from fed-batch fermentation with pH decreased naturally to 2.8. Finally, with the revised recovery method, 68.3% of the total SA with purity between 89.5% and 91.0% was recovered from the acidic fermentation broth with only low input of acid for acidification, which demonstrated the great advantages of SA production at low pH over that under neutral conditions in terms of economic improvement and environmental sustainability. In general, this study overcomes one of the major economic drawbacks for future feasible large-scale fermentative SA production, and it also illustrates a promising prospective for bio-SA production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A critical review on the microalgae bio-refinery process synthesis via superstructure optimization. • The possible future research plans based on the research gaps were recommended. • Considering different feedstocks and products in superstructure is a good topic for future studies. • Development of the efficient exact or hybrid solution algorithms is a good subject for future studies. • Development of quantitative methods for analyzing the social aspects is a good topic for future studies. Microalgae have numerous potential advantages as feedstock in producing biofuels and other value-added end products. The variety in processing pathways for biofuel production is one of the main challenges in commercializing microalgae-based bio-refineries. The superstructure optimization method is a great solution to overcome this challenge and attracted much attention in the academic communities. In the present study, a systematic review of past studies has been carried out to determine the future perspective in the microalgae-based bio-refinery process synthesis area of study with an emphasis on the superstructure optimization approach. In this regard, the relevant papers published from 2011 to 2022 are taken from the literature and categorized based on different classifications such as their feedstocks and end products, mathematical model, model characteristics including uncertainty, objective function, sustainability, solution method, and economic and environmental analysis. Then, the existing research gaps in the literature have been described to specify future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioethanol is the most widely used alternative transportation fuel to petrol. Bioethanol is considered a clean, renewable, and environmentally friendly fuel that can contribute to climate change mitigation, decreased environmental pollution, and enhanced energy security. Commercial bioethanol production is based on traditional agricultural crops such as corn, sugarcane, and sugarbeet, primarily used as food and feed. In order to meet the growing demand for this fuel and decrease competition in the food and biofuel sectors for the same feedstock, other raw materials and process technologies have been intensively studied. Lignocellulosic biomass is one of the most abundant renewable resources, with it being rich in compounds that could be processed into energy, transportation fuels, various chemical compounds, and diverse materials. Bioethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass has received substantial attention in recent decades. This review gives an overview of bioethanol production steps from lignocellulosic biomass and challenges in the production process. The following aspects of bioethanol production are covered here, including pretreatment methods, process strategies, strain development, ethanol isolation and purification, and technical hurdles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Indonesia energy depends on fossil fuel which its availability get decrease; the price get higher day by day and the environment impact get worse on global warming. As tropical and agricultural country, Indonesia has plenty of bio- mass; therefore it was feasible to develop bio-fuel. In other, bio-fuel production must be wise because there were competition among food – feed – fuel. Jatropha curcas Linn (JCL) was one of non-edible bio-fuel resources, but there was mistake in development at Indonesia. This paper describe 8th study of gaseous bio-fuel from bio-methane with capsule husk as feedstocks, the waste of Crude Jatropha Oil (CJO). The study was conducted in Research Farm PT. Bumimas Ekapersada, Bekasi, West Java, from October until December 2011 to enhance the development of liquid bio-fuel – CJO/bio-diesel and gaseous bio-fuel – bio-methane in the concept of bio-refinery. Bio-methane was modern cooking fuel and the most efficient energetically. The utilization of industrial waste such as capsule husk will not compete with the food, but one of the problem was its low density, so the husk will float in the substrate. The problem can be solved by two stage digestion process, where hydrolysis reactor as process controlling. HDPE plastic drum with the volume of 160 liter was used as hydrolysis reactor. The reactors were arranged using Randomized Complete Design, three replications. The observed parameters were pH, temperature, substrate volume, volatile solid concentration, and acetic acid concentration This paper was focused on reporting of application technology modification on placement of ballast as oppressor substrate in hydrolysis reactor. 19kg of cement slabs is used to suppress 13kg dried husk (DH) + river water with the ratio 1: 8. The ballast was installed on 4, 7, 10 and 14 days of harvest retention time of hydrolysis substrate. The result showed ballast application can increase of hydrolysis substrate volume from 33.19% until 47.25% even no significantly different by statistical analysis. There was increasing in acetic acid concentration (93.27% - 128.51%) and statistical analysis showed significantly different on 4 days treatment. There was increasing on hydrolysis solution production on 4 days treatment (229.48%) and it was significantly different according statistical analysis. As the conclusion, the usage of 19kg ballast as oppressor can increase hydrolysis solution productivity on 160 liter HDPE hydrolysis reactor with concentration 1: 8 on 4 days harvest retention time. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Black liquor gasification (BLG) for bio-fuel or electricity production at the modern pulp mills is a field in continuous evolution and the efforts are considerably driven by the climate change, fuel security, and renewable energy. This paper evaluates and compares two BLG systems for methanol production: (i) oxygen blown pressurized thermal BLG; and (ii) dry BLG with direct causticization, which have been regarded as the most potential technology candidates for the future deployment. A key objective is to assess integration possibilities of BLG technologies with the reference Kraft pulp mill producing 1000air dried tonnes (ADt) pulp/day replacing conventional recovery cycle. The study was performed to compare the systems’ performance in terms of potential methanol production, energy efficiency, and potential CO2 reductions. The results indicate larger potential of black liquor conversion to methanol from the pressurized BLG system (about 77million tonnes/year of methanol) than the dry BLG system (about 30million tonnes/year of methanol) utilizing identical amount of black liquor available worldwide (220million tDS/year). The potential CO2 emissions reduction from the transport sector is substantially higher in pressurized BLG system (117million tonnes/year CO2 reductions) as compared to dry BLG system (45million tonnes/year CO2 reductions). However, the dry BLG system with direct causticization shows better results when considering consequences of additional biomass import. In addition, comparison of methanol production via BLG with other bio-refinery products, e.g. hydrogen, dimethyl ether (DME) and bio-methane, has also been discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Glycerol is a by-product of biodiesel, soap and fatty acid manufacturing plants, which are now facing sustainability threats and a reduction in prices in the market due to its oversupply as a result of the rapid expansion of biodiesel plants all over the world. The global production and consumption of glycerol, as well as demand and supply, are evaluated here. Glycerol offers a wide range of new opportunities based on its transformation in many applications due to its unique properties, renewability and availability in the current market. This paper is a comprehensive review of the utilization of glycerol as a value-added commodity, including in the synthesis of chemicals, in the production of hydrogen gas, as a fuel additive, as a fermentation substrate, in the co-pyrolysis and co-gasification of glycerol, in methanol production, in the development of fuel cells, in wastewater treatment and in many other applications. In the future, glycerol definitely will become a promising renewable feedstock in biorefineries to synthesize fuel, chemicals and power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food chain-based waste is generated in tonnes globally and this has led to release of greenhouse gases, poor air quality, land and water pollution. Food wastes are generated in tremendous quantity globally from local producer to international consumers and traders. Authors have used systematic literature review to identify the research gaps, thematic areas, methodology, sustainable techniques and future directions of processing food supply chain waste. Research is focused towards utilization of food waste as source for recovery of value-added compounds through sustainable technologies. Food waste can be utilized to synthesis platform chemicals, nutraceuticals, sugars, bio-fuels, bio-gas and bio-char via thermo-chemical conversion, anaerobic digestion and fermentation processes. This paper summarizes and provides technical insights on achieving circular bio-economy via technological advances in food waste processing for enhanced recovery of value-added compounds and future industrial scale operations. The state of art perspectives of food waste valorization and market outlook of platform chemicals and other products provides profitable economy for the food waste generator. Food security requires holistic approaches for effective usage of resources with inter linked global policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photosynthetic pigments, including chlorophyll, have an important role since they provide the oxygen and the source of energy for all living things. Plant and algae growth is affected by the photosynthesis speed which depends on the availability of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). This paper reports on the pilot plant scale study of the impact of 20% to 50% CO 2 on biogas into the growing medium of microalgae which obtained bio-methane purification results as gaseous bio-fuels. Research material was produced from the Jatropha curcas Linn. husk biogas digester and a 0.15 m 3 HDPE drum was used as a purification. The purification tank was filled with Catfish ( Clarias gariepinus ) farm water which grew “wild” microalgae naturally. The water was fed from the top with continuous flow of (16 to 31) L· min –1 and the biogas was fed from the bottom at (18 to 29) L · min –1 . CO 2 level data of biogas was measured by orsat apparatus and processed with t test. The results achieved average efficiency reduction levels of CO 2 on 50% in two cycles (24% in the first and 26% in the second). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugarcane is a cash crop that has been a significant source of revenue in many countries around the world. In the last few decades, sugarcane mills that were only intended for sugar production were converted into biorefineries. Biorefinery enables the co-production of useful products from the sugarcane wastes such as bagasse, molasses, cane trash, filter mud and vinasse. In certain applications like disposable plates, fly ash, and as reinforcement in polymer composites, bagasse can be directly employed without the need for secondary processing while applications like paper, biochemical, lignosulfonate, vanillin, etc., require secondary processing through the biochemical route involving pre-treatment, acid hydrolysis, and fermentation. Other sugarcane wastes can also be mixed with bagasse to obtain biomethane, bioethanol, and bioelectricity. This article focuses on the recent advancements in such pre-treatment and processing methods employed by the researchers. It also outlines the strategies to co-generate two different products and ways to maximize the product yield and highlights various parameters influencing the process. The challenges that are critical to the sustainability of the sugarcane biorefineries and their mitigations were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modelling is an effective way of designing, understanding, and analysing bio-refinery supply chain systems. The supply chain is a complex process consisting of many systems interacting with each other. It requires the modelling of the processes in the presence of multiple autonomous entities (i.e. biomass producers, bio-processors and transporters), multiple performance measures and multiple objectives, both local and global, which together constitute very complex interaction effects. In this paper, simulation models for recovering biomass from the field of the biorefinery are developed and validated using some industry data and the minimum biomass recovery cost is established based on different strategies employed for recovering biomass. Energy densification techniques are evaluated for their net present worth and the technologies that offer greater returns for the industry are recommended. In addition, a new scheduling algorithm is also developed to enhance the process flow of the management of resources and the flow of biomass. The primary objective is to investigate different strategies to reach the lowest cost delivery of sugarcane harvest residue to a sugar factory through optimally located bio-refineries. A simulation /optimisation solution approach is also developed to tackle the stochastic variables in the bioenergy production system based on different statistical distributions such as Weibull and Pearson distributions. In this approach, a genetic algorithm is integrated with simulation to improve the initial solution and search the near-optimal solution. A case study is conducted to illustrate the results and to validate the applicability for the real world implementation using ExtendSIM Simulation software using some real data from Australian Mills.

In Australia, Bioenergy plays an important role in modern power systems, where many biomass resources provide greenhouse gas neutral and electricity at a variety of scales. By 2050, the Biomass energy is projected to have a 40-50 % share as an alternative source of energy. In addition to conversion of biomass, barriers and uncertainties in the production, supply may hinder biomass energy development. The sugarcane is an essential ingredient in the production of Bioenergy, across the whole spectrum ranging from the first generation to second generation, e.g., production of energy from the lignocellulosic component of the sugarcane initially regarded as waste (bagasse and cane residue). Sustainable recovery of the Lignocellulosic component of sugarcane from the field through a structured process is largely unknown and associated with high capital outlay that have stifled the growth of bioenergy sector. In this context, this paper develops a new scheduler to optimise the recovery of lignocellulosic component of sugarcane and cane, transport and harvest systems with reducing the associated costs and operational time. An Optimisation Algorithm called Limited Discrepancy Search has been adapted and integrated with the developed scheduling transport algorithms. The developed algorithms are formulated and coded by Optimization Programming Language (OPL) to obtain the optimised cane and cane residues transport schedules. Computational experiments demonstrate that high-quality solutions are obtainable for industry-scale instances. To provide insightful decisions, sensitivity analysis is conducted in terms of different scenarios and criteria.

Featured Application: Glucose is a key intermediate in many routes of biomass transformation to obtain valuable bio-products. The sustainability of glucose production is essential to improve the environmental profile of 'greener' bio-products. In this work, LCA methodology was used to determine the strengths and weaknesses of processes devoted to glucose production, starting from different types of biomass. Alternatives to reduce the environmental impacts of glucose generation are highlighted from our LCA results. The sustainability of glucose production from two different feedstocks, maize starch (MS) and woody biomass residues (WBR), was evaluated by means of life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The aim of this work was to compare the environmental performance of conventional technology (glucose from MS by enzymatic hydrolysis) with a novel alternative (glucose from WBR by a three-step process: pretreatment -crushing, deacetylation, and diluted-acid treatment-; conditioning -acid-alkali-acid treatment-; and enzymatic hydrolysis), which is specifically oriented towards the circular economy context. Life cycle inventory was completed by simulation of the different processes, followed by integration of the mass and energy inputs and outputs in an LCA software (GaBi 7.3). LCA results evidenced benefits in all the evaluated environmental impacts when using WBR as a glucose source alternative. Environmental damages associated with the starch production process, which involves more than 60% of the impacts calculated for glucose production from maize starch, has been detected as the key step in which focusing the improvement efforts for this process. On the other hand, pretreating of the biomass residues was the most contributing stage in the WBR process, principally due to the large heat and electricity requirements associated with this stage. Finally, we concluded that the WBR process proposed here might be considered as a valuable alternative in sustainability terms for the production of glucose within the biorefinery concept. Likewise, we have identified the critical points that should be considered to further improve this technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multistage process was employed to obtain value-added products from brewer’s spent grain (BSG). This paper is focused on the production and characterisation of cellulose nano-fibres (CNF) as one of the products obtained during the complete process. In the first stage, protein-rich liquor was separated via the alkaline (NaOH) treatment of dried BSG and stored for further utilisation. In the second stage, bleaching treatments were conducted to separate cellulose, which was later converted to CNF by high-pressure homogenisation. The lignocellulosic product from each step was analysed for its chemical composition by means of alkaline hydrolysis combined with the HPEAC method. The thermal properties were measured using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) was done to observe changes in crystallinity. The nano-cellulose produced can be regarded as a value-added material from the bio-refinery of BSG along with numerous already-reported products.

With the transportation sector growing considerably and demand for transport fuels rising globally, this study looks at the current and future status and technical/economic potential of lignocellulosic biofuels in India in a business-as-usual (BAU), national policy on biofuel (NPB) and 2°C. climate stabilization scenarios. It identifies key challenges in achieving the country's biofuel targets, and analyses their role in India's long-term transport scenarios. In this study, we have used ANSWER MARKAL model to assess the economic potential of biofuels obtained through lignocellulosic agricultural residues. The results indicate that the current ethanol and biodiesel availability in India through the first generation biofuel route is not sufficient to meet the country's biofuel target. On the other hand, lignocellulosic agricultural residues can produce 38 and 51 billion litres of lignocellulosic ethanol/BTL in 2020 and 2030, respectively, which would be sufficient to meet the NPB's 20 percent blending by 2030. Apart from biofuel availability, we assess the investment requirement for second generation biofuel industry, reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and impact on rural employment in different scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Levulinic acid (LA) has been ranked as one of the “Top 10„ building blocks for future bio-refineries as proposed by the US Department of Energy. It is considered one of the most important platform molecules for the production of fine chemicals and fuels based on its compatibility with existing processes, market economics, and industrial ability to serve as a platform for the synthesis of important derivatives. Hydrogenation of LA to produce γ-valerolactone (GVL) is an active area of research due to the potential of GVL to be used as a biofuel in its own right and for its subsequent transformation into hydrocarbon fuels. This paper contains a new design for a simple, cost effective, and safe hydrogenation reactor for the transformation of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone (GVL) by utilizing high boiling point organic fluid. The hydrogenation reactor is composed of a heating source—organic fluid (called “DOWTHERM A„ or “thermex„) and the catalytic reactor. The advantages of high boiling temperature fluids, along with advances in hydrocracking and reforming technologies driven by the oil and gas industries, make the organic concept more suitable and safer (water coming in contact with liquid metal is well understood in the metallurgical industry to be a steam explosion hazard) for heating the hydrogenation reactor. COMSOL multi-physics software version 4.3b was applied in this work and simultaneously solves the continuity, Navier-Stokes (fluid flow), energy (heat transfer), and diffusion with chemical reaction kinetics equations. It was shown that the heat flux supplied by the DOWTHERM A organic fluid could provide the necessary heat flux required for maintaining the hydrogenation process. It was found that the mass fractions of hydrogen and levulinic acid decreased along the reactor axis. The GVL mass fraction increased along the reactor axis.

Studies on the effects of research and innovation in agriculture have been largely characterised by efforts to make a connection between expenditure and productivity. A number of issues have challenged the ability of productivity to measure the effects of research, namely, in recent years, increasing efforts towards improving the environmental performance of the farming sector. Besides environmental concerns, however, a number of recent concepts have emerged that are shaping the current research and policy agenda and which could result in a revision of the productivity concepts used to evaluate research impacts. The objective of this paper is to discuss these issues and their implications for studies on the impact of research and innovation. We address, in particular, the following issues: a) the development of the of bioeconomy and related concepts such as the circular economy, resource efficiency and bio-refinery; b) the connection with entrepreneurship and eco-innovation; c) changing tools in research assessment, in particular the widespread use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); and d) the evolving concepts of sustainability and ecosystem services. We argue that while the traditional notion of productivity, intended as output/input ratio, maintains (and may be strengthens) its role on the aggregate, a more analytical interpretation of the pathways towards research impacts is needed, as well as a broadened view of productivity and its determinants.

The general need to slow the depletion of fossil resources and reduce carbon footprints has led to tremendous effort being invested in creating "greener" industrial processes and developing alternative means to produce fuels and synthesize platform chemicals. This work aims to design a microwave-assisted cascade process for a full biomass valorisation cycle. GVL (γ-valerolactone), a renewable green solvent, has been used in aqueous acidic solution to achieve complete biomass lignin extraction. After lignin precipitation, the levulinic acid (LA)-rich organic fraction was hydrogenated, which regenerated the starting solvent for further biomass delignification. This process does not requires a purification step because GVL plays the dual role of solvent and product, while the reagent (LA) is a product of biomass delignification. In summary, this bio-refinery approach to lignin extraction is a cascade protocol in which the solvent loss is integrated into the conversion cycle, leading to simplified methods for biomass valorisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global bio-based chemical market is growing in size and importance. Bio-based solvents such as glycerol and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran are often discussed as important introductions to the conventional repertoire of solvents. However adoption of new innovations by industry is typically slow. Therefore it might be anticipated that neoteric solvent systems (e.g., ionic liquids) will remain niche, while renewable routes to historically established solvents will continue to grow in importance. This review discusses bio-based solvents from the perspective of their production, identifying suitable feedstocks, platform molecules, and relevant product streams for the sustainable manufacturing of conventional solvents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure of wood is so compact that enzymes are too large to penetrate into the structure and thereby attack the wood components for modifications that can be valuable for various purposes. Here we present a pretreatment method based on traditional kraft pulping, which opens the wood structure, so that enzymes are able to attack the wood components. To study this kind of chemical pretreatment, spruce wood samples were treated at similar conditions used in kraft cooking at varying intensities (H-factors). To verify if the structure was "opened" for enzymes, the pretreated wood samples were incubated with a cellulolytic culture filtrate, and the released reducing sugar concentration after the enzymatic hydrolysis was measured. The results indicated that unpretreated wood fibers could not be attacked by the enzymes, but already relatively mild pretreatment was sufficient for letting the culture filtrate attack wood polysaccharides, and more intensive treatments opened the structure further. The mildest treatments did not cause any significant yield losses of lignin (Klason lignin). Some galactoglucomannans were however lost during the pretreatments. The mechanisms behind the effect and the technical significance of the method are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellulose is cracked over supported Pt or Ru catalysts under hydrogenolysis conditions in water to give sorbitol as a main product. Among the catalysts tested, Pt/γ-Al203 gave the highest yield and selectivity, and this catalyst was recyclable in repeated runs. It is proposed that cellulose is hydrolyzed by in situ generated acid sites to form glucose, and glucose is immediately reduced to sorbitol over the metal catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]