Biorefinery Education as a Tool for Teaching Sustainable Development

Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Finland works closely with economic life and makes studies authentic by using Open Innovation Space learning. In this spirit, ABOWE biorefinery project and the related educational links served as a concrete tool for teaching sustainable development. Savonia invested in a mobile biorefinery pilot plant, which is based on the research of Finnoflag Oy, Finland. In this biorefinery plant solution, biodegradable wastes are valorized to platform chemical and energy products with the aid of microbes and their enzymes. The process is carried out in the same way as the circulation is taking place in the Nature. However, skilled personnel are required for conducting the process runs. Therefore, the engineering, construction and testing of the mobile biorefinery pilot plant served as an excellent opportunity for educating engineers to encounter the basics of biological industrial processes. The interdisciplinary project also provided means for learning from each other in a practical way. ABOWE has been positively evaluated for its multisector approach and for involving students and personnel from many educational organizations in the cooperation. Sustainable development was clearly a through-cutting principle during the project. This chapter aims to give an example of how a multidisciplinary development project can act as an educational tool for teaching sustainable development for the participant students as well as a part of continuing education for the personnel.