Biorefinery: Current Status, Challenges, and New Strategies

Dear Colleagues,

Renewable fuels and chemicals derived from lignocellulosic biomass offer unprecedented opportunities for replacing fossil fuel derivatives, reducing our overdependence on imported oil and mitigating current climate change trends. Despite technical developments and considerable efforts, breakthrough technologies are still required to overcome hurdles in developing sustainable biorefineries. In recent years, new biorefinery concepts including a lignin-first approach and a closed-loop biorefinery have been introduced to tackle technoeconomic challenges. Furthermore, researchers have advanced the development of new technologies which enable the utilization of biomass components for sustainable materials.

It is now apparent that advanced processes are essential for ensuring the success of future biorefineries. In this Special Issue, we invite submissions that explore the process for biomass fractionation, lignin valorization, and sugar conversion or introduce new bioproducts (chemicals and materials) from renewable resources, addressing the current status, technical/technoeconomic challenges, and new strategies. This Special Issue will provide a more comprehensive view on developing future biorefinery.

Dr. Kwang Ho Kim
Dr. Chang Geun Yoo
Guest Editors

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