DOI 10.1007/s00253-003-1537-7 MINI-REVIEW

Abstract Sustainable economic growth requires safe, sustainable resources for industrial production. For the future re-arrangement of a substantial economy to biolog-ical raw materials, completely new approaches in research and development, production and economy are necessary. Biorefineries combine the necessary technologies between biological raw materials and industrial intermediates and final products. The principal goal in the development of biorefineries is defined by the following: (biomass) feedstock-mix + process-mix → product-mix. Here, particularly the combination between biotechnological and chemical conversion of substances will play an important role. Currently the “whole-crop biorefinery”, “green biorefinery ” and “lignocellulose-feedstock biore-finery ” systems are favored in research and development