Valorization of Biomass to Value-Added Commodities

The effect of climate change and the need for sustainable products and production processes are key issues, which are of great concern to the global community. Interestingly, there is a vast amount of biomass resources, which could possibly satisfy the increasing demand for green products, since fossil fuel is no longer advisable due to environmental concerns and other related factors. Lignocellulosic biomass and the residue generated from their processing represent the major amount of biomass resources, which cut across several sources and have been put to different applications. This chapter discusses the lignocellulosic biomass feedstock applications and motivations for their exploration. References were made to common lignocellulosic biomass and their structural constituents vis-a-vis cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Various value-added products, which can be harnessed from lignocellulosic biomass and its residue, are outlined. The value creation pathway for lignocellulosic is discussed.

Biomass feedstock offers a wide range of fuel and fuel-blend sources with much interest on the liquid fuel. Characteristics of biomass feedstock vary greatly, and they negatively impact the quality of the fuels derived thereof. Furthermore, the characteristics dictate the choice of processing techniques employed in their conversion to value-added chemicals, which affect its characteristics. Therefore, it is essential to gain an in-depth understanding of the quality of biomass feedstocks by critically examining their properties via variety of techniques and methods. As a way of contributing to this understanding, this chapter, therefore, gives a short overview on the different biomass conversion techniques and different characteristics obtainable via these methods. In addition, standard analytical tools/equipment used for characterization of diverse biomass are presented and discussed. Analytical methods to check and investigate chemical or elemental composition, morphology, particle size distribution, etc. are thoroughly addressed. Proper understanding addressing the questions: “What methods can be used to investigate quality of biomass?” and “How can this be done?” is instrumental to developing an efficient biorefinery for production of bio-based fuels and chemicals from biomass.

The conventional method for the production of silicon from quartz is energy-intensive; hence, alternative sources of silicon are required. Sugarcane bagasse ash, a waste product from sugar and bio-ethanol processing industries, has been conventionally used as an additive to cement due to good pozzolanic properties and high silica content. However, the percentage silica content in sugarcane bagasse ash is highly dependent on the geographical location where the sugarcane is grown and the farming practices. For valorisation of wastes, complete characterisation of the materials is necessary for potential applications. Therefore, this study investigated the composition of sugarcane bagasse and its ash to ascertain its suitability for the production of nano silicon for solar cell application. The chemical composition, surface chemistry, degree of crystallinity, calorific value and morphology were checked. The results showed that sugarcane bagasse ash contains silica and other oxides. The sugarcane bagasse bottom ash contained 71.49 wt.% silica. The FTIR results revealed the presence of polymerised silica between the wave number 1011 cm⁻¹ and 1080 cm⁻¹. The ash content of raw sugarcane bagasse obtained was 5.2 wt.%. The moisture content, volatile matter and fixed carbon were 6.4%, 58.54% and 29.86%, respectively.

Biomass has been agreed to be the most sustainable and abundant renewable source which can be used as a replacement for crude oil-based products. Biomass as value-added products in energy generation must be comprehensively characterized in order to determine its properties. However, the experimental procedure for these analyses demands instruments that are very complex, exorbitant and requires a stable electricity supply. The advancement of knowledge in artificial intelligence and blockchain technology is unlocking new potential prediction accuracy for biomass properties. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been applied in the prediction and modelling of several processes. Advances in machine learning, rapid development of algorithms and prediction accuracy are the major motivation behind the increasing application of ANN. Therefore, this chapter highlights the methods, which have been applied in the prediction of the properties of biomass. It further discusses the ANN-based prediction models for biomass as regards the thermal properties. The types of models, stages involved in the formulation of prediction models, the paradigm of learning, classification of training algorithm and sensitivity analysis are detailed. The governing principles, applications, merit and challenges associated with this technique are elaborated. Some relevant case studies were reviewed.

Biomass residues from plants and animal sources have been considered as organic materials useful for bioenergy production. The characteristics of a particular biomass sample are part of the factors that influence the properties of the resultant products used for bioenergy purpose. The choice of biomass feedstock and its suitable characterization method is therefore an important prerequisite step towards the determination of biomass fitness for thermal conversion methods. Biomass waste resources can be characterized using various techniques such as proximate, compositional, ultimate and thermogravimetric analyses. Important biomass characteristics include moisture content, volatile matter and ash content for proximate analysis while ultimate analysis provides information on elemental composition of the biomass. The compositional analysis involves the determination of the neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) contents of the biomass for estimating the hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin contents of the biomass. Thermogravimetric analysis is used to determine the kinetic parameter of samples under different conditions. New evolving biomass characterization methods and analytical techniques are discussed including current trends, results, challenges and future outlook The evolving methods and analytical techniques are motivated by the need for efficient high-throughput methods to analyse biomass for thermochemical conversion.

The overall efficiency of the transformation of lignocellulosic materials to usable products as chemicals and fuels must be governed by adequate analysis of products before and after treatments. Using some promising technologies, lignocelluloses which are biomasses from marine plant and trees, grains, food and non-food crops, and wood-based can give products as fuel alcohol and other chemicals. Various methods of transformation from feedstock to valuable end products are discussed in the scientific literature. Therefore, yields must justify methods used for biomass transformations. As a result, adequate compositional analysis of these processing stages is needed. In this chapter, standard common methods such as gravimetric, chromatography, spectroscopic and their variations for analysis on both untreated and treated lignocelluloses are highlighted. The ease of the use and challenges with recommendations to their applicability to quantifying lignocelluloses fractionations for reproducibility and to be representative are discussed. With biomass technology, virtually all and even more products that can be produced from fossil energy can also be produced from biomass energy. Adequate analysis is therefore necessary.

Owing to their abundance and cost-effectiveness, lignocellulosic materials have attracted increasing attention in clean energy technologies over the last decade. However, the complex polymer structure in these residues makes it difficult to extract the fermentable sugars. Therefore, various pretreatment regimes have been used resulting in the breaking of lignocelluloses’ physical and chemical structures, thereby enhancing the availability of the polysaccharides which are subsequently hydrolysed into different biocommodities. This chapter provides an evaluation of some of the latest exploited methodologies that are used in the pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials. Moreover, the chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

The quest to have a greener environment and curb the price instability associated with conventional petroleum fuels requires the shift of attention to other sources. The rising demand of ethanol to meet the industrial needs and serve commercial purposes has necessitated the focus on biological sources. Among the biofuels, bioethanol has enjoyed more production than other biofuels. However, most of the ethanol produced is derived from food sources, resulting in competition with human consumption. A way of avoiding this is by exploring materials, such as lignocellulosic biomass, which are relatively cheap, abundant, and do not compete with food sources. However, the structure of these biomasses requires sequential processing to enhance their conversion to bioethanol. This chapter examines the various pretreatment technologies that are employed in converting lignocellulosic biomass to bioethanol. Ammonia fiber explosion treatment gives a variety of advantages over other physicochemical methods, and the inherent limitations can be eliminated when CO₂ explosion and wet oxidation treatment methods are simultaneously employed. The chemical treatment with alkaline offers some merits over acid treatment; the low sugar degradation, higher cellulose digestibility, and lignin solubility make the method desirable.

The optimum process conditions are often reached when biomass treatment methods are combined.

Environmental and health concerns have increased the demand for bio-based “green” products and services. This chapter reviews fractionation methods for producing multiple bioproducts from agricultural residues such as wheat straw, corncobs, potato, banana and mango peels. The purpose is to unveil major opportunities and challenges in achieving multiple fractionation objectives, in particular, finding optimal process conditions and configurations for obtaining co-products and by-products in high yields, purity, and with increased efficiencies and functionality. The structure and chemical composition determine the potential of the agricultural residues as feedstocks for multiple bioproducts in a biorefinery. Therefore, depending on the composition, the fractionation process can be tailor-made to co-extract multiple products such as polyphenols, anthocyanin, pectin, hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin, which with further modification produce high value products, for example, nanocellulose from cellulose. In addition, a strategically configured sequential fractionation process allows co-production of products with overlapping reactivity and different optimal extraction conditions, resulting in increased selectivity and reduced product degradation. The production of the multiple value-added products provides an alternative residue disposal strategy with a double gain environmentally and socio-economically. However, comprehensive evaluation of the socio-economic and environmental impacts using systems approach and life cycle thinking is a critical research gap.

In recent years, the drive toward a sustainable economy has challenged the scientific community to pursue ambitious investigations to convert sustainable feedstocks such as lignocellulose into useful products. These products include biofuels, commodity chemicals, and new bio-based materials including bioplastics, which offer a potential substitution to the dwindling nonrenewable fossil resources. A plethora of lignocellulosic biomass processing technologies have been attempted and effectively documented in literature, which include, but not limited to, biochemical, liquid acid, thermochemical, and catalytic (homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis) transformation processes. This chapter reviews the state-of-the-art research and development of these process technologies. We further highlight the advantages and disadvantages, potential for future applications, challenges related to these technologies, and opportunities to maximize economic and environmental benefits, while minimizing waste and pollution. Special emphasis is placed and discussed on the production of biofuels and commodity chemicals from these process technologies. Besides, the application of molecular modeling in integration with experiments is highlighted in this chapter as a new paradigm for mechanism study and thus could open up new avenues to design and develop catalysts for a plethora of biomass reactions that require high activity and selectivity.

Cellulase enzymes are key factors for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass. This enzymatic biocatalysis plays a very important role in the development of many industries such as chemistry, energy, food, and fine chemistry. Nevertheless, the production cost of these enzymes is a critical factor for the conversion processes to different products. In this context, the use of biomass to obtain enzymatic complexes through fungi and bacteria is a sustainable alternative. The enzymatic complexes mainly consist of cellulases, hemicellulases, pectinases, ligninases, and other accessory enzymes, such as exoglucanases, β-glucosidases, endoglucanases, and xylanases. However, enzyme applications are limited by their instability and low reusability. This chapter summarizes some of the main challenges within the production process such as environmental factors, inducers, inhibitors, and enzymatic regulation. Likewise, the mechanisms of action of three main enzymes (cellulases, hemicellulases, and ligninases) on lignocellulosic biomass are described, as well as their use in the treatment of lignocellulosic biomass and in value-added products by different industries. On the other hand, the different immobilization systems are summarized as a tool to increase the use of enzymes and improve their catalytic activity. Finally, a general overview of the economic context of these enzymes is provided.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) have emerged as one of the most promising substitutes of conventional plastics owing to their biological origin, renewability, environment friendliness, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and tunable properties. The PHA accumulation trait is ubiquitous, and a diverse culture collection is available for exploitation. Despite the attractiveness of PHA over conventional plastics, further advancements in the fields of synthetic biology, genetic engineering, and biosynthetic pathways are required to make PHA production economical and environmentally appealing. The major thrust areas include the screening and identification of an ideal strain possessing a desirable combination of traits and process improvements that aid in the industrial-scale production of PHA in an eco-friendly and economical manner. A reliable supply of growth substrate/feedstock is critical for any biomass supply chain, and given their abundance and other attractive attributes, the lignocellulosic/agroindustrial residues are expected to serve as an important substrate. This would improve not only the attractiveness of the process but also provide a means to dispose of/valorize such wastes/resources. This work is a compilation of important research investigations on the techno-economic analysis of microbial PHA production and aims to highlight the major challenges and opportunities in the successful scale-up of the process.

The emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) is a major concern for the scientific community due to its contribution to climate change. The valorization of organic wastes, such as lignocellulosic biomasses, by thermochemical processes to obtain value-added compounds is a highly promising option to mitigate GHG emissions and decrease the consumption of natural resources. Thermochemical valorization provides three main byproducts: syngas, pyrolytic oil, and biochar. According to operating conditions, it is possible to orient the thermochemical reactions to focus on one main byproduct. This chapter discusses the production and applications of oil and biochar, which have high potential for use in various industrial sectors. For example, pyrolytic oil can be used as a fuel to generate heat and power or as a raw material for biorefineries. Biochar can be also used as solid fuel or as a carbon sink when applied as soil amendment, and it is a promising catalytic support or adsorbent. The chapter also discusses the main challenges to the development of an industrial production of these two byproducts and their emerging applications.

Scarce water resources, degrading land resources, and declining natural fish stocks as a result of a growing population create an urgent and critical need for more sustainable sources of protein, than ever before. In a bid to meet this need, a novel nutrient recycling process in which black soldier flies (BSF) are fed on organic wastes to produce a natural, cost-effective, and a protein source alternative to fishmeal has been established, with a biomass lipid by-product called maggot oil. The mass of the maggot oil by-product derived from this industrial process in South Africa is estimated at an annual 1300 tonnes. The sustainability of the oil production is guaranteed based on the current astronomical demand of this protein meal. This study highlights the potential benefits of using MagOil as feedstock for biodiesel production. MagOil is a potential renewable feedstock that is sustainably available with no competition for resources with food/feed production. Results of the maggot oil characterization, fatty acid composition, acid value, saponification, density, and viscosity as well as the fatty acid profile analyzed using GC-FID are presented. The acid and saponification values of the maggot oil were 3.6 and 176.43 mg KOH/g respectively. The oil had a density of 0.883 g/ml and average kinematic viscosity of 43.16 mm²/s at 40 °C. Transesterification of maggot oil with methanol using conventional potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide biodiesel homogeneous catalysts resulted in 75% and 65% biodiesel yield, respectively. This further, using a synthetized heterogeneous catalyst in a single and two-step transesterification, yielded biodiesel of 41% and 60%, respectively. The samples of biodiesel produced were characterized qualitatively and complied with the international biodiesel standards.

Biomass conversions into value-added products have been done through biochemical, chemical and thermochemical processes. Pyrolysis is an existing popularly adopted thermochemical methods for biomass conversion. Pyrolysis process involves thermal decomposition which occurs above 400 °C without oxygen. During this pyrolysis process, organic matters are transformed into gases, liquids and solid residues containing carbon and ash. Pyrolysis occurs in two distinct steps, removal of moisture and condensation of volatiles into liquid fraction. These steps are controlled by some parameters, such as the feed properties, rate of heat transfer to the feeds, the residence time and the reaction temperature. Although pyrolysis has long been an established process usually practised in the chemical industry for the production of various chemicals from wood, it has become an important means of biomass conversion and a precursor to biorefining opportunities with future prospects.

The high population growth rate and invasiveness of invasive alien plants (IAPs) have led to serious environmental, ecological and socio-economic problems in most regions. Such have prompted continuous and extensive control measures by government-funded environmental agencies to curtail their impacts. With the continuous generation of enormous amounts of biomass wastes of little or no commercial value from the control of these IAPs, there is scope for the thermochemical production of biofuels and energy from such wastes. However, there is limited knowledge of properties of these IAPs which may either limit or promote their effective use for thermochemical conversion processes. In addition to this is the high tar impurity of syngas associated with biomass gasification in general. Syngas tar cleaning methods reported in literature can be broadly categorized into pre-gas production and post-gas production cleaning methods. One of such pre-gas production tar removal methods being developed for application in biomass syngas production is pyro-gasification. In this chapter the pyro-gasification process and pilot studies relating to its development are discussed. It also highlights its application in the gasification of biomass wastes recovered from IAPs, as well as examines key IAP properties which could potentially affect their use as feedstock for pyro-gasification.

The current approach to managing waste is one of the major reasons for ecosystem imbalances. In many parts of the world, human excreta is indiscriminately dumped in the environment, leading to the entry of high concentrations of nutrients and pathogens. In urban sanitary systems, nutrients are often not recovered, but large amounts of natural resources (e.g. water) are used for treating wastes at the expense of the environment. These practices are unsuitable and pose risks to human health and the environment, as such current efforts are geared towards providing on-site sanitation and opportunities for nutrient and resource recovery. This mini-review summarises the efforts to valorise human waste and process routes for the recovery of value-added products. These involve a review of ecological sanitation, systems that safely collect and treat human waste in situ and advanced waste-to-energy systems to convert recovered materials to fuels, heat and/or electricity. Focus is given to low-cost technological solutions that offer ecological benefits and opportunities to recover useful products. The barriers and opportunities to the adoption of on-site sanitation and appropriate technologies are discussed, considering current limitations and potential benefits. There are opportunities to recover useful products from human wastes; however, further research is needed to ascertain the value and impact of recovered products.

The change of lignocellulosic biomass into valuable products is gradually gaining research interest, not only because of their abundance, but also because of the quantity of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin it contains. Thermochemical processes like combustion, gasification and pyrolysis are considered as an efficient approach for changing lignocellulosic biomass into valuable materials, with pyrolysis as the most efficient for biomass conversion into biochar, bio-oil and syngas. Notwithstanding, biochar is emerging as the most desirable product, due to its numerous benefits in energy generation (acting as an energy carrier), carbon sequestration, soil amendment, climate change mitigation and environmental management (reducing pollutants concentration in the atmosphere). Effectiveness of biochar in various applications is linked to its good physicochemical properties, including huge surface area, large pore size and volume, high cation and anion exchange capacity, high water-retaining capacity and presence of mineral content, with rich surface functional groups. These intrinsic properties, in turn, determine biochar’s adsorption ability through various physisorption and chemisorption mechanisms and have presented biochar as a desired adsorbent. This overview discusses the principles governing adsorption, applications of adsorption technology, the techniques being utilized in biochar production and the need for biochar as a substitute for commercial adsorbent. Lastly, areas where biochar has been successfully applied as an adsorbent are highlighted.

The use of Ppolystyrene-Bbased Rresin (PBR) synthesised from waste polystyrene in the valorisation of biomass like sawdust, rice husk and bamboo for the production of plastic composites at ambient conditions was the focus of this investigation. This chapter explores the preparation and properties of plastic composites produced from biomass wastes and PBR synthesised from waste. The preparations were made at varying percentage of waste biomass (between 0% and 40%). PBR was synthesised via solvolysis of waste polystyrene in a chosen solvent, and properly mixed with recycled biomass by simple mechanical stirring, using hand lay-up process in cold pressing to obtain the desired shapes. ASTM D-1037 standard was used to evaluate the physical and mechanical properties of the manufactured particleboards. Moisture content (MC), water absorption (WA), thickness swelling (TS) and mechanical properties, that is modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR), were suitably comparable to ANSI A208.1 standard. PBR synthesised at room temperature is confirmed as a good matrix for biomass fillers like sawdust, rice husk and bamboo in the production of plastic composite.

Lignocellulosic materials have been shown to be essentially good feedstocks in the production of simple sugars, which may be used as starting materials in the production of a range of bioproducts. While high yield of sugars from lignocellulose and conversion of lignocellulosic and/or simple sugars to several bioproducts have been reported, efficient recovery of these products remains a challenge, especially if a food or medicinal-grade product is envisioned. Although many separation techniques have been proven to recover value-added products from fermentation broth, there is still a continuous search for alternative methods with additional advantage with respect to product safety and/or yield. The high pressure technique of supercritical fluids extraction and fractionation using CO₂ is one such methods. However, these techniques have to meet various requirements such as high separation efficiency, biocompatibility, environmental acceptability, distribution coefficient and appropriate solvent for the isolation of targeted compound from aqueous broth. Extraction of organic compounds from aqueous solution using CO₂ has been demonstrated, mainly for ethanol, studies dedicated to other organic compound mixtures in aqueous solution are scarce. It was shown in this review using experimental data that  an integrated bioprocess-supercritical carbon dioxide process can be developed for production and recovery of some selected bioproducts (bioethanol, acetoin and vanillin) produced in high, medium and low concentrations in fermentation broth, respectively.

Recent research thrust and industrial focus have been directed towards the production of platform chemicals and value-products from biomass-derived materials. However, downstream separation of these bio-based chemicals, particularly organic acids such as carboxylic acids, poses a great challenge due to low concentration in aqueous solutions. Various conventional separation processes have been proposed, but limitations from waste generation, large energy input and material requirements leading to high costs remain a challenge. Improved sustainability can be attained through intensified process separation with a reduction in production cost, equipment sizes, energy consumptions and flexibility of the process. The direct conversion of the acid in aqueous solutions to esters using hybrid reactors, wherein reaction and separation occur in one single process unit, has distinct but significant benefits to comparable applications. Future research on its operational performance requires attention to obtain parameters for process design and consequent corresponding scale-up to commercial production. Good knowledge of reaction kinetics is necessary to enhance process chemistry analysis, reaction parameter optimization, process efficiency and equilibrium studies of the separation process. This information will allow an assessment of the potential industrial applicability of the overall design and development of a sustainable biorefinery approach to value-added production.

Over the past few years, Rhodosporidium sp. has received a great amount of interest due to its ability to accumulate 50–70% lipid of their total dry cell weight. In addition, Rhodosporidium sp. has also been demonstrated to thrive on multiple carbon sources such as hexoses and pentoses, which made them the potential candidate for lipid production using mixed carbon sources. Despite these advantages, the feasibility of Rhodosporidium sp. as a biofuel producer is still questionable. Many strategies were developed for improving the lipid production in this strain. Genetic engineering also allowed the researchers to increase the tolerance to inhibitors and to enhance the consumption of carbon sources form lignocellulosic biomass. This chapter systematically presents the engineering strategies that have been employed for strain improvement and highlighted the potential of Rhodosporidium as a biotechnological chassis. The prospect has been further discussed, and needs of the engineering strategies and the recommendations for future research are also elaborated.

Depleting fossil fuel reserves and increased climate changes have led the research community to look for sustainable and environment-friendly energy sources. Agricultural/forest feedstock has a tremendous potential to contribute for the production of biofuels and to reduce carbon dioxide emission. However, the biological transformation of lignocellulosic biomass is complicated due to their complex structure. Therefore, pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation technologies were being investigated for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels. Various factors that adversely affect ethanol production include presence of various fermentation inhibitors (furfurals, formic acid, and acetic acid) and presence of hexoses (glucose and mannose) that compete with or inhibit xylose utilization. This study compares and scrutinizes the various advanced biotechnological strategies applied on microbes such as strain adaptation, mutagenesis, genome shuffling, and metabolic engineering to enhance sugars and biofuel (bioethanol/biodiesel) production. Further, evaluation of BOLT-ON technology was carried out to study the impact of co-fermentation of sugars derived from molasses and lignocellulosics on ethanol production. Thus, it was concluded that co-utilization of hexoses and pentoses streams can be carried out by using advanced microbial strains that must be adapted to high sugars and ethanol concentration as well as fermentation inhibitors in future.

Lifecycle assessment is a robust tool for evaluating the potential impacts of products, processes, and activities, not only on the environment but also on human health and on ecosystems’ well-being. Currently, there are pockets of scholarly works involving the use of lifecycle tools in the assessment of some stages in the biomass lifecycle. Future trends would see increased use of lifecycle engineering concepts in the entire biomass value chain rather than on the current focus on the design of biomass conversion processes. Lifecycle assessment could possibly become a regulatory requirement for the approval of a biomass facility siting. The current challenges in the biomass lifecycle assessment, especially in the developing countries, are twofold, namely, shortage of lifecycle assessment practitioners and non-availability of adequate geographical location-relevant data for lifecycle assessment. Accurate lifecycle analysis of potential consequences of decisions at any stage in the biomass value chain in the future would require availability of well-trained professionals for the job. There is therefore a need for increased and consistent offering of lifecycle assessment education in engineering colleges and universities. The future of lifecycle concept in the biomass industry will also require the development of location-relevant biomass databases for lifecycle assessment. This chapter provides details on how to achieve these goals and gives some examples.

Biomass is the most abundant bio-renewable resources on earth. This makes it a valuable resource not only for energy production but also for a lot of other valuable products that could be derived from it. The harvesting and processing of this feedstock into value-added products currently require a lot of energy and water as well as utilization of various types of chemical cocktails. With the increasing global demand for sustainable production and consumption, the future outlook in the lignocellulose biomass conversion to value-added products would be in sustainable production of energy crops, re-examination of logistic handling of lignocellulose biomass for sustainability, and development/utilization of alternative chemicals for its conversion to value-added products. In general, the future would focus on redesign of biomass conversion technologies for sustainability as well as progressive development of circular business models in the biomass industry. The future of the biomass industry will also see deployment of artificial intelligence than what is seen now.

Some of the challenges to this transition, especially in the developing countries, would be the availability of enabling infrastructure and the requisite/sustained sociopolitical goodwill to push through the required changes. Sustainability education for the future generations of engineers and policy makers would be crucial in overcoming the challenges. Sustained public education would also be necessary to communicate the pros and cons of the changes to the public. This chapter would provide details on the current state of lignocellulose biomass conversion to value-added products from sustainability standpoint. It will also expound on the identified future outlooks and challenges as well as give some more insights on the solution pathways to addressing the challenges.