Given the widespread distribution of bio-feedstocks such as dedicated non­food crops or food supply chain residues, the development of small localized biorefineries compared to traditional mega-scale refineries is attractive. This will ensure that biomass is valorized as closely as possible to its production site, avoiding high transport costs for lower value feedstocks and increasing the sustainability of the process, as well as making sure as little as possible biomass is imported to meet targets. Such an approach will also prove the feasibility and the scalability of novel clean and green technologies while requiring a lower primary investment. This will encourage further industry sectors to support biomass and food supply chain residue conversion to bio-chemicals, bio-materials and bio-fuels. Important steps in this direction include the use of continuous processing and of feedstock agnostic technologies to allow maximum biomass conversion efficiency and flexibility in operation to suit places with multiple resources (e. g., an area growing or processing fruit and vegetables). Biofuels alone are likely to become insufficient as green products as wind, solar and other clean energies develop; but the combination of bio-fuels and the higher value bio-chemicals can make biorefineries the sustainable production chain for the twenty-first century, just as petroleum refineries dominated the twentieth century.

1.2 Sources of further information and advice

• EU COST Action TD1203 ‘Food Waste Valorisation for Sustainable Chemicals, Materials & Fuels’, http://costeubis. org/

• S. K. C. Lin et al., Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, 6, 426-464.

• L. Pfaltzgraff et al., Green Chem., 2013, 15, 307-314.

• Green Chemistry Network: http://www. greenchemistrynetwork. org/ index. htm

• Handbook of Green Chemistry and Technology, edited by James Clark & Duncan Macquarrie, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, 2002.

• Renewable Raw Materials — New Feedstocks for the Chemical Industry, edited by R. Ulber, D. Sell and T. Hirth, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2011.

• Feedstocks for the Future — Renewables for the Production of Chemicals and Materials, edited by J. J. Bozell and M. K. Patel, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 2006.