Biorefinery technologies and applications

Biorefinery is a real possibility for the utilisation and recultivation of polluted areas making them suitable for cleaner industrial production purposes in a non-food-competitive manner. Numerous plants can be cultivated on contaminated fields, and plant biomass produced during this process can accumulate toxic components (e.g. heavy metals) decreasing the level of pollutants in the soil and thus reducing the effect of harmful emissions caused by previous industrial activities, or can be the source of industrially valuable compounds in the case of plants growing without increased levels of contaminants in their tissues. In case of the latter, plant biomass produced on polluted sites can be converted into high added value materials (e.g. fuels, solvents, plastics, cosmetic and pharmaceutical materials, feed, food) and/or energy carriers in an integrated manner.
In a former project of BZN, the applicability of biorefinery technology was proven on a brown field area in Hungary. The possibility of converting plant biomass into high added value compounds was investigated in the case of numerous plants grown on the test sites of the project. Safflower was chosen to be studied in detail, its carotenoid content and seed oil were extracted by different refinery processes. These components can be used in cosmetics and food products as cooking oil, salad dressing, margarine.

Technology Readiness Level: TRL 5 - 6

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