CHAPTER 2: Economic and Policy Aspects of Integrated Forest Biorefineries

Integrated forest biorefineries (IFBRs) have several technological and economic advantages. As such, they are expected to play a major role in the future bioenergy industry. This chapter describes the supply chains and key economic aspects of IFBRs. A decision support model is presented that maximizes the net socioeconomic and environmental benefits of using available biomass sources to produce multiple end-products through the selection of production technology, siting and size of production facilities, and transportation mode. Barriers to IFBR development and deployment are also identified, and policies are proposed to overcome the barriers. Overall, IFBRs, especially when integrated with the supply chains of traditional forest products, have great potential and can enhance the efficiency of resource use, overall economic return, and job creation, thus contributing to the prosperity and sustainability of the forest products and bioenergy industries and forest-based communities.