The global energy demand is precipitously escalating, with upturn in several factors including industrialization, population, and rapid climate changes. In this scenario, biobased materials, including plants, agriculture waste, and marginal lands, are essential pillars to develop bioeconomy, and they are considered as a primary resource for bioenergy generation in US, Canada, and Brazil. The valorization of such biomass is challenging, because of the large variety of feedstocks and their complex chemical structures. Given their enormous amount, using lignocellulosic residues from agricultural and plastic derivatives as feedstocks is a promising option for expanding the advanced biofuel and biochar utilization in biorefineries. However, the commercial viability of biobased materials depends on enhancing their efficiency and reducing emissions of toxic gases during pyrolysis, gasification, and combustion. A range of experimental and computational work has already been carried out to optimize chemicals and products, but further accurate studies, including technoeconomic analysis, are needed for their efficient use in integrated biorefineries.
This Research Topic aims to highlight gaps in the latest research for developing biorefineries and value chain analysis to adopt at industrial scale. Both experimental and computational works are welcome. Diverse works related to process optimization techniques, including embedded biorefinery approaches through machine learning, life cycle assessment, and techno-economical aspects to explore market potential and development strategies will also be highly appreciated. While thermochemical processes including pyrolysis, gasification, liquefaction and fermentation are used to convert waste into valuable products, this Research Topic also endorses the diverse range of pure research articles related to bioenergy generation through several potential candidates for clean energy generation and process optimization to obtain useful chemical and products.
This Research Topics welcomes submissions dealing with, but not limited to, the following areas:
1) Integrated Biorefinery schemes and scenarios with experimental validation
2) Clean H2 production processes
3) Product optimization through thermochemical conversion technologies
4) Machine learning in integrated biorefinery for advanced biochemicals
5) NOx and Sox and CO2 reduction pathways
6) Kinetic modeling and value chain analysis
7) Bioproduct characterization with proof of experiment like Py-GCMS, HPLC, XRD, NMR
8) Life Cycle assessment for biorefinery approaches
9) Technoeconomic and Market potential analysis on advance biobased materials
Keywords: Biorefinery, System Engineering, Biofuels, Waste to energy, Bioproducts
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
