Utilising renewable resources economically: new challenges and chances for process development

In recent years a considerable increase in interest in the development of processes based upon renewable resources has occurred. One reason for this development is the call for more sustainable and environmentally benign production processes and products. Increased utilisation of renewable resources, however, poses new challenges to chemical and process industries. These challenges arise from increased competition for renewable but still finite resources, the de-centralised production of the renewable resources and the complexity of the raw materials. These new challenges require new approaches to process development, as production systems become more complex and interlinked, logistical considerations become increasingly important and new technological solutions must be adapted to local and regional settings. As the structure of complex production systems must be newly developed and optimised, process synthesis will play an increasingly important role in process development. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.