12. Microbial Potential and Biofuel Production

Exhaustion of fossil fuel has driven consideration and notion all over the world to ascertain an auxiliary and long-time supportable energy resources and sources of power to fulfil the requirement of human beings. The microbial originated fuels, known as micro-biofuels has immense potential to substantially reduce the transportation fuel crisis. For cost-effective biofuels production, the use of microbes using industrial, agricultural waste and renewable matters will sort out energy crisis, climate change apprehensiveness and food assurance. Quantum of plant biomass on our planet is remarkable and the biomass can be converted by the microbes and their enzymes into renewable energy sources. Currently, on a large scale, the bioethanol is produced in countries like United States of America using corn or other raw materials to meet the requirements of transportation sector. On the contrary, though methane gas is produced on a significant level, it is yet to gain currency for industrial and transportation purposes. As regards the biobutanol, it has huge potential to supplement the existing petroleum products.

Instead of producing bioethanol or biodiesel from microbes, researchers are trying to manufacture advanced microbiofuels, such as long chain isoprenoid, alcohols and fatty acids based fuels from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli or production of hydrogen using the cyanobacteria. In this chapter, we analyse and discuss the present status of microbial based biofuel production, their constraints and challenges.