Petroleum reverses are depleting, fuel prices are increasing and the push of the
environmental policies such as Kioto protocol are forcing the search for new biofuels,
biomaterials and biochemicals. Lignocellulosic biomass seems to be a promising raw
material for its transformation into the desirable aforementioned bioproducts in the
so-called Biorefineries. Bearing this in mind, an entire biorefinery process is proposed
in this thesis in order to add value to lignin stream by transforming lignin into simple
phenolic monomeric compounds. Agricultural residues were considered as interesting
candidates to be used as raw material in biorefinery processes because of their
abundance and their low price. In that sense, olive tree pruning was used as raw
material in the developed study.
Two