# Biorefinery combines mechanical engineering and the microbial system that sustains the life in Nature

> Biorefining combines microbiology and engineering into a sustainable way to transform sidestreams into valuable products.

## Overview of Biorefining
In April, Savonia’s first-year mechanical engineering students attended a guest lecture by Adjunct Professor and CEO Elias Hakalehto (University of Eastern Finland, University of Helsinki, Finnoflag Oy) as part of the Environmental Management of a Manufacturing Company course. The lecture explored the industrial utilization of microbes—organisms invisible to the eye that are essential for the circulation of substances and the maintenance of life.

## The Role of Microbes and Biocatalysis
Microbes are ubiquitous and possess immense cleansing power, as demonstrated by their role in environmental disasters like the Deep Water Horizon oil spill. Biorefining leverages **biocatalysis**, where microbes and their enzymes facilitate rapid chemical reactions with low external energy input. 

Examples of microbial efficiency include:
* **Bison:** Utilize microbial communities in their rumen to convert dry hay into significant muscle mass.
* **Human Colon:** Probiotics and lactic acid bacteria support butyric acid bacteria, which provide protective health benefits.
* **Carbon Sequestration:** Biorefineries can act as carbon sinks by feeding captured carbon dioxide into the process, where microbial metabolism binds it into products.

## Industrial Applications and Case Studies
Biorefining transforms waste and biomass into platform chemicals (such as succinic acid, butanediol, or valeric acid) that serve as precursors for plastics, rubber, cosmetics, and textiles.

* **Hiedanranta, Tampere:** Researchers utilized bacteria found in "zero fiber" (industrial waste at the bottom of a lake) alongside microbes from Finnoflag Oy to produce mannitol and lactic acid.
* **Mannitol Production:** Finnoflag Oy used cow stomach manure as a microbial mass to achieve record-high productivity of mannitol from fructose. Mannitol is a valuable, non-allergenic carrier for the pharmaceutical industry.
* **2,3-Butanediol:** Finnoflag Oy achieved a productivity of 8 g/liter/hour in the early 2000s, significantly outpacing global records at the time.

## Technology and Future Integration
Implementing biorefining requires a multidisciplinary approach, combining mechanical, electrical, automation, and information engineering with biotechnology and chemistry. 

* **Monitoring:** Technologies like the PMEU (Portable Microbe Enrichment Unit) are used to detect and monitor microbial activity and product formation.
* **Artificial Intelligence:** Future systems could utilize AI to optimize processes, acting as an assistant to human decision-makers to improve yield and efficiency.
* **Process Hierarchy:** Elias Hakalehto suggests a step-by-step approach: first extracting valuable liquid chemicals and hydrogen, then using the remaining mass for biogas production.

## Environmental Impact and Sustainability
Biorefining offers a path to replace fossil-based resources with bio-based alternatives. Beyond production, it addresses critical environmental challenges:
* **Soil Health:** Finnoflag Oy has researched nitrogen-fixing microbial strains that significantly improve crop yields, offering a solution to the global threat of soil degradation.
* **BioResque Project:** A current EU-funded project (12/2023–5/2025) where Finnoflag Oy is piloting the conversion of forest industry side streams into soil conditioners.

## Further Reading
* [ABOWE Project Information](https://www.savonia.fi/en/rdi-projects/abowe/about-abowe-project/)
* **New Publication:** *Mixed Cultures in Industrial Bioprocesses* (Springer Verlag, May 2025), edited by Elias Hakalehto, covers the utilization of microbiological mixed cultures in industrial applications.