Biorefinery – From Plants to Bioenergy, Biochemicals, Biomaterials, and High Value Products

“What are the building blocks that plants are made of and how can we deconstruct their complex structures to convert them into sustainable products?” This is the main question that will be addressed in this cross-cutting and interdisciplinary MSc course where students will engage in an interdisciplinary learning environment, collaborating with peers from various fields. Biotechnology, biorefining, agrology, forestry, sustainability, chemistry, engineering, material science, and circular bio-economy are among the themes covered in the entire value chain “From plants to bioproducts”.  The red thread of the course is the holistic biorefinery approach, where sustainable biomass utilization is optimized.

The course will provide the theoretical basis for understanding the  structure of plant tissues and cell walls as well as plant growth. New breeding technologies and genetic tools that can be used to optimize biomass production and tailor biomasses in order to improve the biorefining processes will be covered. Along with this, new agricultural and forestry practices for sustainable intensification of our current production systems will be discussed. The options also include exploiting various biological waste streams and marine biomass (such as microalgae and seaweed).

As an essential part of the course, (biomass) conversion technologies and the various biorefinery routes to produce solid, liquid and gaseous fuels and chemicals will be discussed in detail. This will include a theoretical understanding of chemical, enzymatic and microbial processes in the production of biogas, bioethanol, other upcoming fuels, feed, composites, biopolymers, wood modifications, and platform chemicals. Chemical and thermochemical pathways to produce biodiesel, drop-in fuels, and biochemicals, will be presented.  Examples of high-value products and cascade utilization will also be covered.

An essential learning objective is the understanding of how biomass characteristics influence the conversion processes and how to best design processes and select biomass for their most efficient use in a biorefinery. In this context, calculating conversion yields and performing mass balances will be used to estimate process yields and efficiencies. The assessment of sustainability will be demonstrated by an introduction to life-cycle assessment (LCA) of selected energy products, and thermodynamic principles will be introduced in the context of biomass utilization.

Topics covered are:

• Plant tissues and cell wall components and their structure
• New plant breeding strategies and genetic tools for biomass improvement/adaptation
• Biomass production from agriculture, forestry and aqueous systems (micro- and macro-algae)
• Examples of biochemicals and biomaterials based on biomass
• Thermochemical, biochemical and microbial technologies for conversion of biomass to energy carriers, chemicals, materials, and high value products.
• Sustainability assessment (introductory)
• General principles of biorefining and circular bioeconomy

With the increasing demand for sustainable solutions, this course prepares you to play a key role in transforming plant-based resources into a wide range of valuable bioproducts—from biofuels to innovative biomaterials.