Industries
Biorefining
What changes this industry: bio-solutions with evidence, technologies, suppliers and open money.
Overview of the industry
Agro-industrial chains that still make their building blocks from oil and gas, and mills that discharge, lagoon or burn their residues — and the fermentation platform chemicals and residue-valorization routes that turn sugar, starch, cane and palm mills into biorefineries. Covers the index topics sugar-palm-agri-processing and organic-acids. Downstream products are elsewhere: bioplastics in packaging plastics, bio-solvents and biocatalysis in industrial chemistry, fuels in energy.
Bio-based content claims follow standards such as EN 16640/EN 16785 and ISO 16620; residue application to land follows national rules (e.g. Brazilian state norms for vinasse). The articles are overviews, not process designs.
Articles#
| ID | Problem → alternative | Replaces | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| BR01 | Building blocks → fermentation lactic, succinic, PDO, BDO; sugarcane bio-ethylene/MEG | Petrochemical routes to the same molecules | Replace / Partial |
| BR02 | Mill residues → vinasse/POME biogas, fertigation, filter-cake and EFB compost | Raw discharge, open lagoons, burning, part of mineral fertilizer | Replace / Partial |
Related articles elsewhere#
- Bioplastics: PK04; bio-solvents: I01; biocatalysis: I02
- Bioethanol, biodiesel, residue pellets: EN02, EN03, EN05
- Crop residue burning: WC01
Reviewed but SKIPPED (no proven bio-alternative)#
| Substance / use | Hazard | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Lignin-based aromatics (BTX replacement) | — | Pilot and demonstration scale only; lignin is mostly burned for energy — watchlist |
| FDCA / PEF bottles | — | First commercial plant only starting; no supplier in the index — watchlist |
| Cellulosic (2G) ethanol as a chemical feedstock | — | Several plants closed or idled; economics unproven at scale |
What it replaces 2
| D3 | Sugarcane and palm-oil mill residues — vinasse, filter cake (press mud), bagasse, palm oil mill effluent (POME) and empty fruit bunches (EFB) — anaerobically digested, composted and returned to the field instead of raw discharge, open anaerobic lagoons, burning and mineral fertilizer Replaces: Raw vinasse dumped or over-applied on "sacrifice" fields; open anaerobic POME lagoons emitting methane; EFB and trash burning; part of mineral K, P … | 15 | SERV |
| D2 | Fermentation- and sugar-derived platform chemicals (lactic acid, succinic acid, 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, bio-ethylene and bio-MEG) instead of the same building blocks made from oil and gas Replaces: Petrochemical routes to the same molecules — maleic-anhydride-based succinic acid and BDO, acrolein/ethylene-oxide-based propanediol, naphtha-cracker … | 8 | CHEM |
Screened candidates 2
| BR03 | fermentation ethanol instead of synthetic ethanol from ethylene hydration drop (current share only) — round 2, 2026-10-06 | D2 |
| BR04 | sugarcane vinasse used as fertirrigation and for biogas instead of dumping into rivers fold into BR02 — round 2, 2026-10-06 | D1 |
Technologies 21
| Advanced biofuels (SAF, renewable diesel & biomethane) Drop-in fuels from waste oils, crops and residues — a stack from feedstock to certified SAF, renewable diesel and grid-injection biomethane. | Biofuels & bioenergy |
| Biomass for energy Combusting solid biomass to generate dispatchable baseload electricity and industrial heat. | Biofuels & bioenergy |
| Biorefinery operational-risk insurance A thin category — property, business-interruption, and process-performance insurance for biorefinery and biofuel operations — three confirmed … | Market access & commercial |
| Biosynthetic butanol, isobutanol and bio-C4 platforms Fermentation-derived C4 building blocks — isobutanol, isobutene, n-butanol and gas-fermentation C4 diols — produced as platform intermediates for renewable jet … | Platform chemicals |
| Biosynthetic ethylene & bio-ethylene oxide Producing the world's most ubiquitous petrochemical building block from renewable biomass and captured carbon. | Platform chemicals |
| Biosynthetic Monomers: Succinate, Itaconate, FDCA & BDO Bio-based platform chemicals — succinic acid, itaconic acid, FDCA, and 1,4-BDO — produced via precision fermentation from C5/C6 sugars, replacing fossil … | Platform chemicals |
| Biosynthetic specialty & fine chemicals (precision fermentation, biocatalysis, biorefinery) High-value molecules — flavors, fragrances, food ingredients and bio-based monomers — produced by precision fermentation, biocatalysis and lignocellulose … | Specialty & fine chemicals |
| Cascade biomass use & biorefinery hubs Integrated biorefinery hubs that route one biomass stream through a value hierarchy — food/feed and specialty chemicals first, then materials, then bioenergy … | Logistics & supply chain |
| Deep grain processing (maltodextrin, starches, amino acids) Wet milling and enzymatic hydrolysis convert corn and wheat into maltodextrin, glucose syrups, modified starches and fermentation-derived feed amino acids … | Food & alt-protein |
| Gas fermentation to chemicals Acetogenic bacteria fix steel-mill and refinery off-gas (CO, CO2, H2) into recycled-carbon ethanol, acetone and sustainable aviation fuel through the … | Biofuels & bioenergy |
| Gasification & Fischer-Tropsch sustainable aviation fuel Municipal solid waste, forestry residue and captured biogas are gasified into syngas and built up into jet-range hydrocarbons via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis — a … | Biofuels & bioenergy |
| Hydrogen fuel from biomass Thermochemical and biological routes that convert biomass and biomethane into hydrogen — gasification followed by water-gas shift and PSA, bio-SMR of … | Biofuels & bioenergy |
| L-lactic acid industrial scale (PLA upstream) Industrial-scale fermentation of L-lactic acid, the upstream monomer feedstock for polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastics — fermentation scale-up, PLA-integrated … | Platform chemicals |
| Lignin carbon fibers Production of sustainable, high-strength carbon fibers using technical lignin from the pulp and paper industry as a low-cost, bio-based precursor to replace … | Cellulose & lignin |
| Lignin-derived aromatic chemicals Depolymerising the lignin fraction of woody biomass into renewable aromatic platform chemicals — vanillin, phenolics, BTX and lignosulfonate dispersants — … | Cellulose & lignin |
| Lignin-first biorefining Fractionation that pulls lignin out of biomass first — sulfur-free, uncondensed and reactive enough for materials rather than for burning. The table carries … | Cellulose & lignin |
| Nanocellulose biomaterials & aerogels (CNC, CNF, BNC and cellulose aerogels) Cellulose nanocrystals, nanofibrils and bacterial nanocellulose — the strongest, lightest bio-based materials — and the cellulose aerogels and lignin … | Cellulose & lignin |
| Reverse logistics of biowaste & biomass The reverse supply chain that collects, stabilises, densifies and traces organic waste and biomass streams from generator to biorefinery — turning food waste, … | Logistics & supply chain |
| Sugar-industry biotech Biological inputs are reshaping the conventional cane and beet sugar industry at both ends of the field — a sugarcane biostimulant lifting yields over 15% in … | Food & alt-protein |
| Sustainable biomass certification (FSC/PEFC/RSB) A thin category — third-party chain-of-custody auditing for the forest and biomass certification standards FSC, PEFC, and RSB, distinct from the … | Market access & commercial |
| Urban biorefineries & biowaste processing Turning the wastewater treatment plant itself into a multi-product factory — extracting struvite fertilizer, recovered cellulose and PHA bioplastic from sludge … | Bioremediation |
Opportunities 0
No open tender or grant matched right now.