title: Anaerobic biorefinery: Current status, challenges, and opportunities.
abstract: Anaerobic digestion (AD) has been in use for many decades. To date, it has been primarily aimed at treating organic wastes, mainly manures and wastewater sludge, and industrial wastewaters. However, with the current advancements, a more open mind is required to look beyond these somewhat restricted original applications of AD. Biorefineries are such concepts, where multiple products including chemicals, fuels, polymers etc. are produced from organic feedstocks. The anaerobic biorefinery concept is now gaining increased attention, utilizing AD as the final disposal step. This review aims at evaluating the potential significance of anaerobic biorefineries, including types of feedstocks, uses for the produced energy, as well as sustainable applications of the generated residual digestate. A comprehensive analysis of various types of anaerobic biorefineries has been developed, including both large-scale and household level applications. Finally, future directives are highlighted showing how anaerobic biorefinery concept could impact the bioeconomy in the near future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering (MBBE), University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1955 East-West Road, Agricultural Science Building 218, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
authors.forename: Chayanon
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sawatdeenarunat
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering (MBBE), University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1955 East-West Road, Agricultural Science Building 218, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
authors.forename: Duc
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering (MBBE), University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1955 East-West Road, Agricultural Science Building 218, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Surendra
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering (MBBE), University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1955 East-West Road, Agricultural Science Building 218, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), University of Michigan Ann Arbor, 1351 Beal Ave., 107 EWRE Bldg, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125, USA.
authors.forename: Shilva
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shrestha
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering (MBBE), University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1955 East-West Road, Agricultural Science Building 218, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
authors.forename: Karthik
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rajendran
authors.affiliation: State Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioenergy, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstrasse 9, Stuttgart 70599, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oechsner
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering (MBBE), University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1955 East-West Road, Agricultural Science Building 218, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. Electronic address: khanal@hawaii.edu.
authors.forename: Samir Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Khanal
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D000818:Animals; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008372:Manure; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D064091:Waste Disposal Facilities; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D008372:Manure; D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Bioenergy; Biorefinery; Organic feedstocks; Value-added products