Book

Description

A socially responsible economic growth, devoted to future generations, requires long-term secure and available resources for industrial production, in terms of raw materials, energy, and water. It should be environmentally friendly and a forward-looking financial system capable of future challenges from a global point of view. However, the present economic model based on non-renewable fossil resources (oil, natural gas, coal, minerals) for energy and industrial production is the reason for energy instability and climate change; therefore, it cannot be considered sustainable. In this context, biotechnological techniques, such as biorefinery are becoming more attractive. The biorefinery consists of the sustainable transformation of biomass, such as plants, algae, yeasts, and bacteria, into a wide range of marketable products and, in the meantime, into energy.