Pyrolysis oil from lignocellulosic biomass can be fractionated into a lignin and sugar fraction. We here provide a review on the structure, properties, depolymerisation strategies and applications for pyrolytic lignin in the framework of a biorefinery.

The establishment of novel biomass processing schemes is key for achieving the much‐needed carbon neutrality and counteract global warming. Biomass provides a range of monomers and macromolecules with great potential to replace petro‐based materials in a wide range of applications. While important developments are ongoing in the biorefinery space, cross‐sectoral, multidisciplinary partnerships are paramount to speed up and de‐risk the industrialization of such technologies, and an integrated view is necessary to achieve process feasibility. This perspective explores both bottom‐up and top‐down approaches for biomass valorization based on the main natural polymers and monomers that can be extracted or isolated from biomass. A special emphasis is put on scalability, economic feasibility, and resource availability while the biggest challenges in the path toward the development of biorefineries are also discussed.

This work identifies relevant sustainability targets from the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for main value chains of biobased products, categorized into four dimensions: environment, circularity, social, and economics. Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 85 targets were identified as aligning with sustainability criteria for industrial biobased systems. Six sectors with biobased activity were analyzed, chemicals, construction, plastics, textiles, woodworking, and pulp and paper, each represented by 3–5 value chains. These value chains were chosen based on certification availability, production scale in Europe, economic importance, and potential to replace fossil-based products. In total, 25 value chains were assessed qualitatively for their positive, negative, or neutral impact on each selected SDG target, using public data like EU reports, life cycle analyses, and expert insights. The results showed that 43 SDG targets were directly applicable to the value chains, with higher synergies for those using waste as feedstock over primary resources like crops or virgin wood. Overall, advances in technology and holistic approaches are paving the way for biobased solutions to replace resource-intensive, petroleum-derived materials and chemicals. These alternatives offer additional advantages, such as enhanced recyclability, biodegradability, and reduced toxicity, making them promising candidates for sustainable development. This study underscores that technological progress and a comprehensive approach can further advance sustainable biobased solutions in industry and have a relevant positive impact on various SDGs.

The development of a resilient and circular bio-based economy is of paramount importance, notably in the EU, where current climate policies and evolving regulations strongly demand more sustainable practices, impacting monitoring and reporting, as well as the deployment of novel valorization routes for byproducts and waste streams. In this context, with the aim of assessing the current state of the European bio-based economy, a comprehensive analysis based on socio-environmental, socioeconomic, and technical indicators was carried out on major sectors, namely textiles, woodworking, pulp and paper, bio-based chemicals and materials, liquid biofuels, and bio-based electricity. Each sector was evaluated with respect to its main biological raw materials, and a methodology is proposed to link their geographical origin (inside or outside the EU), import shares, and internal production with socio-environmental impacts, based on official databases and indexes. Socioeconomic data (turnover and employment) and technical data (average bio-based content within the main products of the sector) were also considered for the analyses, allowing a multi-angle comparison between sectors and the identification of barriers and opportunities for future developments. Finally, a quantitative and qualitative overview of non-hazardous biogenic waste streams generated in the EU is presented, and opportunities for their valorization and reintegration into the EU bio-based economy are discussed. As a result of this analysis, beyond enabling the assessment of each sector within the bio-based economy, along with the assignment of values for comparison, the implementation of this evaluation facilitated the identification of improvement pathways, which were consolidated into a set of proposals.

In the framework of the European bioeconomy, liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) represents a promising crop for sustainable agriculture due to its ecological adaptability, nitrogen-fixing capacity, and wide industrial applications. This study aims to identify suitable areas for liquorice cultivation across Spanish municipalities by integrating Geographic Information System (GIS)-based spatial analysis with a multi-criteria evaluation approach. Agronomic factors, annual mean temperature, soil pH, and water availability were combined with socioeconomic indicators including population decline, rural classification, and unemployment rate. Each municipality received a composite suitability score from 0 to 12 based on six criteria, with agronomic variables scored from 0 to 3 and socioeconomic factors assessed through binary classification. Results reveal that southern and southwestern regions, particularly Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, and Extremadura, exhibit the most favourable conditions for liquorice cultivation, offering both optimal environmental parameters and potential socioeconomic benefits. The study concludes that liquorice could serve as a regenerative and climate-resilient crop contributing to rural revitalization in Spain. A pilot case in Aragón illustrates its potential to promote social inclusion, repurpose historical assets, and stimulate local economies in depopulated, flood-prone areas.

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a promising biobased chemical typically produced through the acid-catalyzed dehydration of carbohydrates. We here report a study on the intensification of HMF production in a biphasic liquid-liquid system with an inert organic phase using a continuous centrifugal contactor separator (CCCS; CINC model V02), a process intensification tool that combines mixing, reaction, and separation. The CCCS was adapted for high-pressure operation (up to 10 bar), allowing it to function with selected organic solvents (methylisobutylketone and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran) at elevated temperatures (140 °C). We investigated the effects of acid concentration, phasic flow ratio, and NaCl addition on the performance of the CCCS reactor. In the CCCS with fructose as the feedstock, the highest HMF yield and selectivity were 54% and 67%, corresponding to a HMF space time yield (STYHMF) of 0.9 mol/(m3reactor∙min). These values were close to those predicted in an ideal biphasic batch system under the same operating conditions. Optimization experiments involving increased fructose and acid concentrations further improved the STYHMF to 3.6 mol/(m3reactor∙min). The use of sugar beet thick juice (sucrose) as a cost-effective carbohydrate feedstock resulted in a 50% HMF yield (based on fructose fraction in the feed). These findings show that the CCCS is a promising tool for intensified biphasic HMF production from various carbohydrate sources.