Sustainable development is the common goal of the current concepts of bioeconomy and circular economy. In this sense, the biorefineries platforms are a strategic factor to increase the bioeconomy in the economic balance. The incorporation of renewable sources to produce fuels, chemicals, and energy, includes sustainability, reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG), and creating more manufacturing jobs fostering the advancement of regional and social systems by implementing the comprehensive use of available biomass, due to its low costs and high availability. This paper describes the emerging biorefinery strategies to produce fuels (bio-ethanol and γ-valerolactone) and energy (pellets and steam), compared with the currently established biorefineries designed for fuels, pellets, and steam. The focus is on the state of the art of biofuels and energy production and environmental factors, as well as a discussion about the main conversion technologies, production strategies, and barriers. Through the implementation of biorefineries platforms and the evaluation of low environmental impact technologies and processes, new sustainable production strategies for biofuels and energy can be established, making these biobased industries into more competitive alternatives, and improving the economy of the current value chains.

There is a global trend to replace the production of conventional recyclable plastics with biobased ones, allowing a sustainable alternative adapted to the current concept of a circular bioeconomy. Forest-industrial and agricultural biomass wastes (lignocellulosic biomass waste, LCBW) produce severe problems in some developing countries because they are improperly disposed of or burned in the open air. Such wastes are attractive as a raw material to produce bioplastics due to their low cost. Furthermore, low-pollution processes can complete an economical and environmentally friendly approach. This review focuses on bio-polyethylene furanoate (PEF) production from LCBW as an alternative for polyethylene terephthalate (PET), one of the most widely used fossil-based plastic. The standpoint is based on the replacement of fossil-based monomers for the manufacture of PET, terephthalic acid (TPA), and ethylene glycol by two bio-based monomers, namely 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and bio-ethylene glycol (Bio-MEG). This study describes the processes to obtain each bio-monomer, as well as the resulting polymers’ performance aspects, biodegradability, environmental and economic considerations, and recycling.

Bio-based ethylene produced by bioethanol dehydration is an environmentally friendly substitute for oil-based ethylene. It is a low-pollution raw material that can be used to produce high-value bio-based materials. Currently, some industrial plants use first-generation (1G) bioethanol to produce bio-ethylene. However, second-generation (2G) bioethanol is not currently used to produce bio-ethylene because the manufacturing processes are not optimized. The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to bio-ethylene involves pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis of carbohydrates, the fermentation of sugars to ethanol, ethanol recovery by distillation, and ethanol dehydration to ethylene. This work presents a review of second-generation (2G) bio-ethylene production, analyzing the stages of the process, possible derivatives, uses, and applications. This review also contains technical, economic, and environmental considerations in the possible installation of a biorefinery in the northeast region of Argentina (NEA).