Sustainable production of energy, fuels, organic chemicals and polymers from biomass in an integrated biorefinery is extremely important to reduce enslavement on limited fossil fuels. In the present article, the biomass was classified into four general types based on their origin: energy crops, agricultural residues and waste, forestry waste and residues and industrial and municipal wastes. The article further elucidates the chemistry of various types of biomass used in the biorefinery. The biorefinery was classified into three broad categories based on the chemistry of biomass: triglyceride, sugar and starchy and lignocellulosic. The article further presents a comprehensive outlines of opportunities and recent trends of each type of biorefinery. A brief overview of original and revised list of platform chemicals, their sources from biomass and derivative potentials were also articulated. The article also provides comparisons of different types of biorefinery, broad challenges and availability of biomass. Furthermore, the article provides an overview of hydrocarbon biorefinery for production of hydrocarbon fuels and building block chemicals from biomass. ©2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.