A new report from IEA Bioenergy’s Task 42: Biorefining in a Circular Economy highlights the potential of combining biomass-based processes with locally-sourced hydrogen derived from surplus renewable energy. The report includes four case studies – in Australia, Brazil, Italy and the USA – and suggests some guidelines for the establishment of new biorefineries as part of the next energy transition.
Dr Yue Zhang of EBNet’s Anaerobic Fermentation WG said: “This is a welcome report on the role of green hydrogen in biomass-based systems, which is a significant step forward compared with the fossil-based hydrogen used in petroleum refinery processes for production of both energy and materials. As a powerful reducing agent, hydrogen can be used in multiple steps of a fermentation-based biorefinery system, e.g. central biological process or downstream (thermo)chemical processes to enhance biomass utilisation efficiency, product value etc. We believe the contribution of hydrogen in biorefining will also help to stimulate the rapid development of hydrogen infrastructure”.
For more information on Task 42 see here, and the report is available to download HERE.