Toward an integrated straw-based biorefinery

Straw is a good example of a low-value, high-volume agricultural by-product that can be the basis for a biorefinery, which should aim ( to be truly sustainable and economically viable) to process the feedstock into a variety of valuable products cleanly and efficiently. This article discusses a clean technology - supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, which can represent an ideal initial processing stage in a biorefinery supplied with wheat straw or any appropriate biofeedstock. It also describes different biorefining scenarios and determines the potential economic benefits that might result from a coordinated structure. This working example is the culmination of four years of research undertaken by a consortium led by the University of York and consisting of a number of industrial and academic partners across the supply chain. (C) 2007 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd