Fuels from Biomass

Biomass is the most important renewable energy source in the world, and its importance will increase as national energy policy and strategy focuses more heavily on renewable sources and conservation. In the future, biomass has the potential to provide a cost-effective and sustainable supply of energy. Renewable energy is a promising alternative solution because it is clean and environmentally safe. The promise of renewable energy is that it offers a solution to many of the environmental and social problems associated with fossil and nuclear fuels. Biomass feedstocks include forest products wastes, agricultural residues, organic fractions of municipal solid wastes, paper, cardboard, plastic, food waste, green waste, and other waste. Biomass is a sustainable feedstock for chemicals and energy products. Biomass feedstocks are more evenly distributed in the world. As an energy source that is highly productive, renewable, carbon neutral, and easy to store and transport, biomass has drawn worldwide attention recently. There are some barriers to the development of biofuel production. They are technological, economical, supply, storage, safety, and policy barriers. Reducing these barriers is one of the driving factors in the government’s involvement in biofuel research and development. Production costs are uncertain and vary with the feedstock available. The production of biofuels from lignocellulosic feedstocks can be achieved through two very different processing routes: biochemical and thermochemical. As of now, there seems to be no clear candidate for “best technology pathway” between the competing biochemical and thermochemical routes. Technical barriers for enzymatic hydrolysis include: low specific activity of current commercial enzymes, high cost of enzyme production, and lack of understanding of enzyme biochemistry and mechanistic fundamentals.