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Annexes 117

1. Confidentiality:
This is understandable on the part of the biorefinery operators. When the study
is entrusted to an outside team, confidentiality agreements can be signed to
guarantee that only authorised data will be made public, but to enable
researchers or consultants to have an overall view. Some data can be kept secret
while representation in the form of graphs or percentages is authorised In the
case of multiple biorefineries, negotiations with the operators can make the
publication of average data possible where appropriate.
2. Time scale:
As shown in the pioneering study of industrial symbiosis in Kalundborg
(oil-sourced) in a 2006 publication, efficiency gains over time can be very
significant. We recognised the same phenomenon in the case of Bazancourt-
Pomacle: the use of water in the sugar refinery (quantity of water per kg of sugar)
decreased significantly over a 10-year period. Operators lay great emphasis on
this aspect because a bio-refinery is less efficient at the beginning, and the
engineering staff are continually looking for ways to improve its productivity.
The time at which the study is carried out can thus prove critical for the results of
a review.
3. Internal or outsourced study?
We do not have the necessary hindsight in this respect, since as far as we know
very few comprehensive studies have so far been conducted by operators. We
have, however observed, without being in a position to generalise, that the
operators encountered in different countries all over the world are extremely
well informed about how well their own biorefineries are performing. In princi-
ple, an outsourced study should guarantee the impartiality of the study, and an
unbiased viewpoint, but internal studies should not be excluded. A number of
industrialists in Europe and in the USA have proposed to carry these out.

4. Conclusion Many government documents on the industrial bio-economy rec-
ognise that biorefineries are the cornerstone of the development of a circular,
bio-based economy, a substitute for fossil-based refineries. Hitherto, biorefineries
were mainly studied from a technological perspective, this being the major issue
initially: how to convert biomass efficiently into useful products. This is much less
the case today: technological barriers have not yet disappeared, but the challenge is,
as much or even more, to measure to what extent the biorefinery, and what type of
biorefinery model, would be the optimal answer to ensure a balanced growth of
industrial bio-economy.
Methodologically, a case study cannot replace other assessment tools: overall
and environmental results, life cycle analysis, and industrial risk studies. These are
complementary tools. However, only a series of case studies, if possible with
relatively homogeneous methodological approaches, can provide the knowledge
needed by decision-makers and analysts.
Through these case studies, it will be possible to explore further the questions
that are of interest for public policy makers. These include the role of science,
technology and innovation policies; the role of the different instruments of public