Guided tour: Implementing the forest biorefinery (FBR) at existing pulp and paper mills

Abstract

The forest biorefinery (FBR) is being considered by many forest product companies as an option for improving their business models. FBR implementation presents significant challenges for mills, related to key technological, economical, financial, cultural, and operational risks - and most importantly, related to enterprise transformation (ET). Product platform definition needs to be systematically considered in order to develop sustainable biorefinery strategies, which in turn precipitates corporate transformation, while increas- ing overall profits. Foundation concepts with regards to ET and product design are presented in this paper. A hypothetical guided tour is given for the biorefinery implementation for the production of ethanol, in which a phased approach is proposed, and key issues that a given mill should consider for implementing the FBR are highlighted.