An approach to unify the appraisal framework for biorefinery systems and first cuts to its application

The engrossment of farming land for chemical and energy purposes in Europe increased throughout the last years due to the promotion of bioenergy and biofuels by national governments as well as by the European Commission. At the same time increasing concerns are raised when discussing the production of crops for energetic and chemical purposes as the detention of land to serve the demand for energy or chemical resources leads to an intensifying competition for land worldwide. The underlying conflict between food, energy and the environment itself has previously been called the 'trilemma challenge of bioenergy'. In this sense, decision making for bioenergy systems has not only to take economic and ecologic dimensions into account, but also ethical conflicts in the fields of human rights, sustainability, stewardship and justice and therefore societal dimensions. The assessment of biorefinery systems has therefore to cope with numerous different criteria that need to be integrated in decision making. A working unified appraisal framework can essentially improve bioenergy policymaking by offering a structured and transparent approach to tackle the bioenergy trilemma and to work out whether or not a certain biomass conversion technology or system should be implemented. Further, such an approach can be used to better examine the interdependencies of the single elements of the triple bottom line of sustainability (economy, environment, society). This also would lead to the improvement of existing and future policies and would give the bioeconomy a better foundation within the ethical debate by transparently showing the trade-offs between economy, environment and society. Here a unified appraisal framework for biorefinery systems is presented that integrates different approaches on the data, impact and decision making level (doi 10.1016/j.biombioe.2015.10.012). Further first cuts to its application in the field of hydrothermal biomass treatment are presented based on diligent process design assessments.