Producing Fuels and Fine Chemicals from Biomass Using Nanomaterials

Book excerpt: Scarcity of resources and increasing population and energy demands are important issues of the twenty-first century. A multidisciplinary approach is needed to produce suitable alternatives—such as renewable resources—for a more sustainable future. One of the most promising and widely available renewable feedstocks is biomass, which has significant potential for conversion to materials, fuels, and chemicals. In addition, nanomaterials can be designed for a range of applications including energy storage, fuel production, and nanocatalysis. Designing nanomaterials for the valorization of biomass and waste feedstocks is a major step in advancing the application of nanomaterials and helping to move us toward the goal of a sustainable economy. Producing Fuels and Fine Chemicals from Biomass Using Nanomaterials offers a wide-ranging approach to the development of innovative nanomaterials for biomass conversion and the production of energy and high-added-value chemicals, including biochemicals, biomaterials, and biofuels. The book is organized into three parts according to nanomaterial applications: Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion, Biofuels from Biomass Valorization Using Nanomaterials, and Production of High-Added-Value Chemicals from Biomass Using Nanomaterials. Providing a multidisciplinary perspective, this book covers the most important aspects of topics such as solar energy storage, design of carbonaceous nanomaterials as heterogeneous catalysts for producing biofuels, catalytic reforming of biogas into syngas using a range of nanoparticles, and biofuels production from waste oils and fats. It also describes the design and development of biocatalytic, solid acid, photocatalytic, and nanostructured materials for the conversion of various biomass feedstocks to valuable chemicals as intermediates to end products, such as biopolymers, bioplastics, biofuels, agrochemicals, and pharmaceutical products.