With the surge in bio-based activities around the globe, a new concept called bio-refining starts to emerge. IEA Bioenergy Task 42 on Biorefineries defines biorefining as “the sustainable processing of biomass into a spectrum of marketable products and energy”. A bio-refinery combines/integrates a series of biomass conversion technologies to produce a range of products and (base-)materials, such as food, feed, chemicals, materials, oil, gas, heat and/or electricity. The concept is similar to a conventional oil-refinery where multiple petroleum products and fuels are produced.

The Condebelt drying process was patented in 1975. The Condebelt drying process was originally created to increase drying rates of paper. Condebelt drying produces approximately 10-15 times higher drying rates than conventional cylinder drying. These higher drying rates are achieved by higher contact temperatures, higher pressing between the hot surface and paper and relatively low thermal resistance between steam and paper in the Condebelt drying process.

“Final energy consumption in the global aluminum industry in 2007 was estimated to be 93 Mtoe. The industry is highly electricity-intensive. Primary aluminum smelters used just over 50 Mtoe of electricity in 2007, equivalent to about 4% of global electricity consumption. In total, the aluminum industry emits 0.4 Gt CO2-equivalent of greenhouse gases, including process emissions and indirect emissions from electricity production, equivalent to just under 1% of total global greenhouse-gas emissions (IEA, 2010).”

Bioplastics have much in common with conventional plastics. Two main characteristics separate bioplastics from conventional plastics: 1) The use of renewable biomass materials in the manufacture of bioplastics. Bioplastics are manufactured from sources such as starch and vegetable oil rather than fossil fuel based plastics which are derived from petroleum. 2) the biodegradability and compostability of bioplastics. Some, but not all, bioplastics are biodegradable or compostable.

Steel is by far the world’s most important metal, with a global production of 1120 Million Metric ton (MMt) in 2009 (Worldsteel, 2010). In september 2010 the most important steel producers were China (42, 90 %), EU-27 (12, 79 %), Japan (8, 26 %), USA (5, 95 %) and India (5, 05 %) (Worldsteel, 2010). Figure 1 shows the development of world steel production since 1999. Clearly, China has become the dominant steel producer.

The iron and steel sector is the second-largest industrial user of energy, consuming 616 Mtoe in 2007 and is also the largest industrial source of CO2 emissions. The five most important producers – China, Japan, the United States, the European Union and Russia – account for over 70% of total world steel production. Smelting reduction is a term assigned to a group of upcoming ironmaking processes which aim at overcoming certain fundamental problems of the existing blast furnace route.

The iron and steel sector is the second-largest industrial user of energy, consuming 616 Mtoe in 2007 and is also the largest industrial source of CO2 emissions. The five most important producers – China, Japan, the United States, the European Union and Russia – account for over 70% of total world steel production. A standard technique that is applied worldwide is the coke wet quenching of coke, where quenching vapors are bunkered before delivery to the atmosphere and subsequently or immediately a condensate is drawn off and cooled further.

Ammonia is the main product of the fertilizer industry. Developing countries account for the majority of worldwide production. About 77% of ammonia production is based on steam reforming of natural gas, with most of the remaining production based on heavy-oil or coal-based processes. A further shift from heavy-oil or coal-based to gas-based processes can strongly reduce energy use and emissions.

A polymer is a large molecule (macromolecule) composed of repeating structural units typically connected by covalent chemical bonds. Examples of synthetic polymers are plastics, Bakelite and nylon, while rubber, proteins, DNA but also spider-silk are naturally occurring polymers or so-called natural bio-based polymers. Reproducing naturally occurring and/or synthetic polymers based on non renewable fossil feedstocks is common practice in the (petro-) chemical industry.

Cement is a global commodity, manufactured at thousands of plants. The industry is consolidating globally, but large international firms account for only 30% of the worldwide market. The principal and most visible market for cement is the construction industry in a multitude of applications where it is combined with water to make concrete. Most modern civil engineering projects, office buildings, apartments and domestic housing projects use concrete, often in association with steel reinforcement systems.