In recent years, depleting natural resources have resulted in a shifting of focus from the production of fuels, power and heat from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy, like biofuel, derived from biomass.
By shifting focus toward renewable sources, major sectors can reduce their dependency on natural resources and thereby reduce their carbon footprint. This, in turn, is helping drive the Global Biorefinery Market at a CAGR of 13 percent for the 2013-2018 period.
What is a Biorefinery?
A biorefinery is a facility that is used for converting biomass into fuels, power, heat and chemicals. Chemicals such as acetic acid, liquid fuel such as bioethanol, and biodegradable plastics such as polyhydroxyalkanoates can be produced from woods and other biomass feedstocks that have been processed in a biorefinery.
Among the various techniques used to face the challenges of greenhouse gas emissions, the concept of green energy is regarded as the most significant method. Fossil fuels contribute more carbon emissions, whereas biofuels result in a reduction of carbon emissions.
This is because biofuels are generated from biomass sources such as food waste, virgin wood, energy crops and other environment-friendly materials.
Moving from Fossil to Biofuel
Various European countries have been emerging as important players in the Biofuels industry. For instance, Germany, Denmark, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, and Spain are some of the countries that have been showing growth in the production of biofuels.
Spain, for instance, is one of the largest producers of biodiesel in Europe and has more than 28 biodiesel production plants in the pipeline. The country has a Renewable Energy Programme in place, which permits full tax exemption for a limited volume of biodiesel. The increase in the growth of the Biofuels industry will, in turn, increase the growth of the Global Biorefinery Market in the future.
Increasing Demand for Bioethanol
The demand for bioethanol is majorly driven by the transportation sector. Ethanol is blended with gasoline in order to reduce the environmental impact of gasoline and to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels. Ethanol is used for blending as it has a higher octane number than gasoline, providing premium blending properties. Ethanol can significantly reduce the pollution from a vehicle, which is one of the driving factors for increasing biorefineries and the production of bioethanol in order to meet demand and reduce environmental impact.
Increasing Investment in Biorefining Technologies
Vendors within the Biofuels industry have been investing in the development of the biorefinery to produce various fuels and energy. The fuels and energy that are produced from biorefineries are bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas, and hydrogen. These fuels are attracting the focus of various governments across the globe and drawing significant investment from vendors of biorefinery technologies. This a major positive trend observed in the Global Biorefinery market.
