Biorefineries – Industrial Processes and Products Status Quo and Future Directions

Birgit Kamm studied chemistry at the Technical University of Merseburg, Germany where she obtained her Diploma in 1986, and received her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 1991 at the Institute of Organic Chemistry (with Prof. M. Schulz and Prof. E. Fanghanel). After receiving a grant from the German Federal Environmental Foundation in 1997, she joined the Institute of Chemistry (with Prof. E. Kleinpeter and Prof. M.G. Peter), University of Potsdam, where she fi nished her Habilitation in Organic Chemistry in 2005. She founded the Biorefinery Association, Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany, in 1997. Since 1998 she has been a member of the board of the Research Institute of Bioactive Polymer Systems (biopos e.V.), and since 2001 she has been scientific director of this institute. Patrick Gruber is currently President and CEO of Outlast Technologies. He is the former Vice President and Chief Technology Offi cer at NatureWorks LLC (formerly Cargill Dow LLC), USA. He has over 40 patents to his name and has repeatedly won top awards for his work in chemicals made from renewable resources, including the Discovery Award for Environmental Innovation awarded by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, the US Presidential Green Chemistry Award, and the US Department of Energy Technology of the Year Award 2001, together with Cargill Dow Inc., for the pioneering NatureWorks PLA project. He has served on the Advisory Board to the Energy Futures Coalition, The DOE/USDA Biomass Federal Advisory Board, and several other boards. Michael Kamm studied organic chemistry at the Technical University of Merseburg, Germany, where he graduated with his Diploma. After a research assistantship in Halle-Wittenberg he moved to Potsdam University, co-founded the research institute biopos e.V. where he was involved in the material utilization of renewable raw materials. Since the foundation of biorefinery.de GmbH in 2001 he was President of this company with its headquarter in Potsdam, Germany. He authored and co-authored more than 60 scientific publications and is the holder of 15 international patents.