Deforestation biorefinery

Proposals to implement a biorefinery approach for platform chemical production have ignited a debate on whether biorefinery feedstock production threatens food security and increases the rate of deforestation (Ravindranath et al., 2008). It s worrying because the feedstock suitable for biorefinery implementation is procured primarily from forests. Any activity such as feedstock production, which puts considerable pressure on the forest cover, endangers natural heritage and biodiversity (Achten et al., 2013). This chapter discusses various forest-based feedstocks for biorefinery. Moreover, it seeks to elaborate the industrial applications of this feedstock, their characteristics and land requirements (essentially the extent of theoretical deforestation), their production, and procurement. Clearly the influence of biorefinery on woodlands will rely on the nature of the feedstock being used. For example, Brazil utilizes deforested land for sugarcane cultivation and subsequent ethanol production. However, in the case of Indonesia, rain forests were cleared for palm oil production. All of the biorefinery processes require cellulose as the raw material, and since the major source of cellulose in nature is in the form of trees, large-scale deforestation seems to be a plausible end scenario (Gao et al., 2011). 

This chapter is organized into three sections, apart from this introduction. The first section surveys in detail various feedstock that can be obtained from the forests and their lignocellulosic composition. Various classifications of forest-based feedstocks and their useful fermentation products are also discussed here. The second section presents the application of forest-based feedstocks in light of biorefinery and platform chemical production. To better understand the relationship between feedstock requirements and decreases in forest cover, a detailed analysis of land occupied by each forest-based feedstock will also be presented. The final section provides conclusions and suitable remedial measures to minimize deforestation due to biorefinery. 

The platform chemicals described earlier mainly rely on feedstock, for instance, 70% of the total cost of the fermentation product is based on feedstock. Hence substrate costs are the most influential parameters in platform chemical production from renewable resources. The cost of the substrate is not only based on pretreatment and fractionation but also on the severe environmental damage caused by deforestation for feedstock requirements (Octave and Thomas, 2009). As mentioned earlier, to get a few hxmdred kilograms of chemicals, a huge ton of forest biomass is consumed. Hence the biorefinery sector should divert its focus from wood to forest wastes, paper mill wastes, agricultural residues, and other municipal wastes. This will decrease the pressure on forest biomass and make the entire process sustainable. In order to reduce deforestation, a few strategies are to be followed in biorefineries ... 

EXTENSIVE LAND USE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BIOREFINERY FEEDSTOCK AND DEFORESTATION... 

It can be inferred that the business as usual approach encourages deforestation (forest loss) or nation growth. But it is obvious that deforestation will never promote any country s growth rather it will lead to a loss of biodiversity, GHG emissions from biomass combustion, and human rights violations. Thus several countries contradict this model and appreciate the later model for a sustainability approach. Wicke et al. (2011) clearly demonstrate that an additional demand for feedstock for biorefinery in the future will surely lead to forest cover loss unless and until a proper policy has been framed against this sort of LUC. The same study asserted that the biorefinery approach could be carried out without further forest cover loss by a combination of converting barren land and improving yields. 

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