Biobased fuel and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass: prospects and challenges

Abstract

The high world energy demand and climate changes have driven biofuels development through renewable sources. This chapter approaches the development of a process for the second-generation biofuels and chemicals production following a biorefinery scheme. First, it is presented the current status of biofuels worldwide, followed by a brief introduction regarding the biofuels of first (i.e., bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas) and second (from lignocellulosic biomass) generations, as well as the potential of the developing third- (from algal biomass) and fourth- (metabolic engineering of algae) generation biofuels. After that, it is discussed the capability of lignocellulosic biomass for bioenergy, in which the biomass processing technologies still face large challenges to full commercial deployment. Finally, following a chemical platform to valorize the three main components of lignocellulosic biomass (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin), it is approached the production of lactic/polylactic acid, furan derivatives (furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural), xylitol and phenolic compounds.