Bioeconomy development requires the adoption of a comprehensive concept of biorefinery. This study analyzes the experts’ perceptions regarding biorefinery concepts and discusses the implications for development of the bioeconomy in Brazil. Forty‐five statements about biorefinery concepts were prepared. Statements were grouped accordingly to assess whether the experts agree more with a conventional, transitional or comprehensive biorefinery concept. The statements were organized and submitted to the experts following the procedures outlined by Q‐methodology. Thirty‐six experts from the government (13), academia (17) and industry (6) participated in the study. Government, academic and industry experts answered ‘what is a biorefinery?’ differently. Biorefinery as a biobased value chain, a bioecological economic model and the basis for sustainable energy production were the most relevant among the eight factors explaining the experts’ perspectives on biorefinery (63.35% of the total variation). Since the perspectives on biorefinery vary among experts from different sectors, we conclude that joint efforts should be made to adopt a comprehensive biorefinery concept to enhance the transition to the bioeconomy. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.