Techno-economic motivations for coproduct manufacturing that enable hydrocarbon fuel production from lignocellulosic biomass

The inclusion of coproducts has long been utilized to improve the economic viability of integrated designs for numerous commercial processes including starch ethanol, petroleum refineries, and petrochemical processes. The coproduction of fuels and chemicals in an integrated biorefinery has been brought into focus in recent DOE supported studies on the production of hydrocarbon biofuels. These designs have moved towards the production of a balance of fuels and chemicals to improve both the overall economics and sustainability of the process. This presentation will review a number of these recent techno-economic analyses, with a focus towards understanding key cost and sustainability drivers within these biofuel production processes. Furthermore, we will discuss how techno-economic, sustainability, and market analyses were utilized to inform and direct R&D efforts in the production of fuels and chemicals from biomass.