Biofuel Synergy Development Classification and Identification of Synergies Using Industrial Symbiosis

Many critics argue that biofuel production worldwide account for huge losses in energy and materials. Moreover, a large portion of studies around biofuel production are concentrated on stand-alone plants, particularly ethanol production. However, by including by-products and making use of excess energy and material streams, industrial symbiosis methods can be applied to biofuel industries to improve both environmental and economical performance. The following report outlines an approach to apply industrial symbiosis to several biofuel industry actors through synergy development. Synergies were produced during a brainstorming session in order to bring forward innovative and technically feasible ideas toward partnership. From those synergies developed, the report outlines a method to classify synergies and cooperation between biofuel and external industries in order to ease implementation and understanding of possible symbiosis options for industry and academia.