Lignocellulosic Biomass to Liquid Biofuels

Book excerpt: Lignocellulosic Biomass to Liquid Biofuels explores the existing technologies and most recent developments for the production of second generation liquid biofuels, providing an introduction to lignocellulosic biomass and the processes for its conversion into biofuels. The book demonstrates biorefinery concepts compared with petro refinery, as well as the challenges of second generation biofuels processing. In addition to current pre-treatment techniques and their technical, environmental and economic implications, chapters included also further examine the particularities of conversion processes for bioethanol, biobutanol and biodiesel through chemical, biochemical and combined approaches. Finally, the book looks into concepts and tools for techno-economic and environmental analysis, which include supply chain assessment, by-products, zero-waste techniques and process evaluation and optimization. Lignocellulosic Biomass to Liquid Biofuels is particularly useful for researchers in the field of liquid biofuels seeking alternative chemical and biochemical pathways or those interested advanced methods to calculate maximum yield for each process and methods to simulate the implications and costs of scaling up. Furthermore, with the introduction provided by this volume, researchers and graduate students entering the field will be able to quickly get up to speed and identify knowledge gaps in existing and upcoming technology the book's comprehensive overview. - Examines the state-of-the-art technology for liquid biofuels production from lignocellulosic biomass - Provides a comprehensive overview of the existing chemical and biochemical processes for second generation biofuel conversion - Presents tools for the techno-economic and environmental analysis of technologies, as well as for the scale-up simulation of conversion processes