Biorefining

What is biorefining?

A biorefinery is similar in concept to the petroleum refinery, except that it is based on conversion of biomass feedstocks rather than crude oil.  Biorefineries use multiple forms of biomass to produce a flexible mix of products, including fuels, power, heat, chemicals, and materials.

What are the benefits of biorefining?

The increasing scarcity and cost of fossil resources are contributing to growing interest in bioproducts.  Biomass can potentially be used to diversify current U.S. fossil-energy based systems for fuel, power and products.  Diversification can reduce U.S. vulnerability to disruptions in energy supply as well as U.S. dependence on imported energy sources for both fuels and products.

The transition to more bioproducts also provides environmental gains.  Biomass is carbon fixing and represents a way to produce fuels, products, and power with a "net-zero" contribution to greenhouse gases and global warming.

Biorefineries also have positive economic development impacts by creating new markets for farmers.  Biorefineries are usually located in rural communities close to the feedstocks and have resulted in new processing, distribution, and service industries, as well as the creation of a significant number of new, high-paying jobs.

What can CIRAS do for my company?

CIRAS staff assist Iowa companies in the following ways:

• facilitate development of supply networks for biorefining (agricultural producer supply networks and business-to-business relationships for synergistic use of biomass feedstocks)
• facilitate the development of university-business partnerships for research purposes
• write grants and secure funds for joint university-industry partnerships that explore new bioprocessing technologies or new crops for use in bioprocessing
• analyze potential economic and social impacts of new bioprocessing systems in Iowa communities

What is my next step?

Contact the following staff member for more information: