Biorefinery: Where do we come from, where we are, where are we going?

Biorefinery has been defined as the sustainable conversion of biomass towards a spectrum of biobased products for different industrial fields, among which the food and feed, chemical, and energetic sectors. This concept was assessed at the beginning of the century and it was initially related to biofuels production through processing of dedicated biomass, i.e., sugar or oleaginous crops specifically cultivated for bioethanol and biodiesel production, respectively. Despite the consequent development of strategies for culture intensification, biofuel costs have not been competitive when compared with fossil-based counterparts. Low energy product values have contributed to this evidence; furthermore, with respect to conventional refinery fed with fossil sources, biofuel production needs to face up to higher costs associated with related raw materials, due to the facts that they are typically seasonal, widely distributed in larger territories, complex and variable in composition.