Sustainable Biorefinery Concept of Oil Palm and Forest Plants Value Chains for Renewable Source of Chemicals, Materials, and Energy

The development of biorefinery technology involved a multidiscipline of knowledge for bioconversion of the lignocellulosic residues to value-added products that can be applied in various industries. The diversification of the product from the biorefinery process contributes to the economic value of the feedstock. This scenario contributes to sustainable alternative products and reduces the dependence on petroleum-based products. The oil palm industry and forestry produce massive lignobiomass waste which has the potential to be transformed into value-added products for various applications in industries. The palm oil industry produces solid and liquid wastes from plantation and processing mills. These wastes are categorized as organic wastes containing cellulosic material, fat, oil, and grease that are environmentally degradable. Both solid and liquid wastes derived from oil palm plantations and processing mills can be transformed into biomaterials, green energy, biofuels, and biogas for various applications in industries through integrated biorefinery processes. Besides the palm oil industry, the forestry sector also generates high amount of solid lignocellulosic waste which contains high cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin that can be used as the source of sugars and phenolic compounds. Those compounds can be used as substrate or intermediate for the formation of value-added products via biorefinery process technology. The sustainable concept of forestry biorefinery opens an opportunity for the industry to increase its revenue by producing bioenergy and new biomaterials. It also contributes to the societal needs whereby renewable resources can be used as alternatives to fossil fuels commodity products.