Bioethanol Production from Food Crops: Sustainable Sources, Interventions and Challenges comprehensively covers the global scenario of ethanol production from both food and non-food crops and other sources. The book guides readers through the balancing of the debate on food vs. fuel, giving important insights into resource management and the environmental and economic impact of this balance between demands. Sections cover Global Bioethanol from Food Crops and Forest Resource, Bioethanol from Bagasse and Lignocellulosic wastes, Bioethanol from algae, and Economics and Challenges, presenting a multidisciplinary approach to this complex topic. As biofuels continue to grow as a vital alternative energy source, it is imperative that the proper balance is reached between resource protection and human survival. This book provides important insights into achieving that balance. Presents technological interventions in ethanol production, from plant biomass, to food crops Addresses food security issues arising from bioethanol production Identifies development bottlenecks and areas where collaborative efforts can help develop more cost-effective technology

Bioethanol is a versatile transportation fuel and fuel additive that offers excellent performance and reduced air pollution compared to conventional fuels. Its production and use adds little, if any, net release of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, dramatically reducing the potential for global climate change. Through a sustained research program and an emerging economic competitiveness, the technology for bioethanol production is poised for immediate widespread commercial applications. Written by engineers and scientists providing a technical focus, this handbook provides the up-to-date information needed by managers, engineers, and scientists to evaluate the technology, market, and economics of this fuel, while examining the development of production required to support its commercial use.

Advances in 2nd Generation of Bioethanol Production presents a comprehensive overview of technologies and strategies for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass. This includes issues like sustainable production, environmental and economic benefits, and the main hurdles for upscaling and achieving commercial viability. The book assesses the current biomass conversion technologies, their readiness level for commercial production, and applications of bioethanol in bioenergy and chemical feedstock. The essential conversion process of 2nd generation biofuels, including feedstock composition and pretreatment, is then broken down, with special focus on advantages and pitfalls of each feedstock and process. It also explores the advances and challenges of bioprocessing, hydrolysis technologies and simultaneous fermentation of pentose and hexose. Finally, it presents the current status and bottlenecks for industrial production of bioethanol, as well as its future prospects. Its interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon plant biology, chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, and genetics, makes Advances in 2nd Generation of Bioethanol Production a must-have reference for researchers in academia and industry R&D. It allows them to compare challenges and opportunities of new technologies and identify the gaps where new technology is needed. Practitioners in the industry also benefit from the information on working principles, design and control of the bioethanol production process, highlighting areas where technology innovation and investment should be placed. Graduate students and researchers newly entered in this field find here a key-resource to thoroughly understand the process as well as the fundamentals of bioethanol and bioproducts production from lignocellulosic biomass. Presents fundamentals and state-of-the-art of available pathways for bioethanol and bioproducts production from lignocellulosic biomass Discusses key-challenges for large scale production of bioethanol, such as pretreatment and hydrolysis Covers the specificities of various feedstocks and processes, the role of microorganisms in fermentation, saccharification limitations and challenges in the C5 and C6 fermentation

This book provides the latest research on bioethanol production from first- and second- generation feedstock. Bioethanol has emerged as one of the main alternative biofuels in recent years. The book provides a perspective on the chemistry, sources and production of bioethanol highlighting the recent developments in the field. Through this book readers will learn basic and advanced bioethanol production technologies under one roof, including resource management and environmental and economic impacts. The topics discussed in the book will attract researchers and scholars focusing in this field as well as anyone who is interested in green and sustainable energy resources.

Bioethanol has been recognized as a potential alternative to petroleum-derived transportation fuels. Even if cellulosic biomass is less expensive than corn and sugarcane, the higher costs for its conversion make the near-term price of cellulosic ethanol higher than that of corn ethanol and even more than that of sugarcane ethanol. Conventional process for bioethanol production from lignocellulose includes a chemical/physical pre-treatment of lignocellulose for lignin removal, mostly based on auto hydrolysis and acid hydrolysis, followed by saccharification of the free accessible cellulose portions of the biomass. The highest yields of fermentable sugars from cellulose portion are achieved by means of enzymatic hydrolysis, currently carried out using a mix of cellulases from the fungus Trichoderma reesei. Reduction of (hemi)cellulases production costs is strongly required to increase competitiveness of second generation bioethanol production. The final step is the fermentation of sugars obtained from saccharification, typically performed by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The current process is optimized for 6-carbon sugars fermentation, since most of yeasts cannot ferment 5-carbon sugars. Thus, research is aimed at exploring new engineered yeasts abilities to co-ferment 5- and 6-carbon sugars. Among the main routes to advance cellulosic ethanol, consolidate bio-processing, namely direct conversion of biomass into ethanol by a genetically modified microbes, holds tremendous potential to reduce ethanol production costs. Finally, the use of all the components of lignocellulose to produce a large spectra of biobased products is another challenge for further improving competitiveness of second generation bioethanol production, developing a biorefinery.

This book provides an updated and detailed overview on the recent developments of bioethanol technology. It looks at the historical perspectives, chemistry, sources and production of ethanol and discusses biotechnology breakthroughs and promising developments, its uses, advantages, problems, environmental effects and characteristics. In addition, it presents information about ethanol in different parts of the world and also highlights the challenges and future of ethanol. The first edition of this book was published as a SpringerBriefs in 2013. Since then, many new developments have taken place in the last six years. This new edition will highlight the evolution in bioethanol development from first-generation production to the futuristic fourth-generation bioethanol production, the various constraints and challenges involved, and the scope for development. This book caters to the audience who are interested in alternative transportation fuels which are both biodegradable and sustainable to the environment.

Bioethanol is one of the main biofuels currently used as a petroleum-substitute in transport applications. However, conflicts over food supply and land use have made its production and utilisation a controversial topic. Second generation bioalcohol production technology, based on (bio)chemical conversion of non-food lignocellulose, offers potential advantages over existing, energy-intensive bioethanol production processes. Food vs. fuel pressures may be reduced by utilising a wider range of lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks, including energy crops, cellulosic residues, and, particularly, wastes. Bioalcohol production covers the process engineering, technology, modelling and integration of the entire production chain for second generation bioalcohol production from lignocellulosic biomass. Primarily reviewing bioethanol production, the book’s coverage extends to the production of longer-chain bioalcohols which will be elemental to the future of the industry. Part one reviews the key features and processes involved in the pretreatment and fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass for bioalcohol production, including hydrothermal and thermochemical pretreatment, and fractionation to separate out valuable process feedstocks. Part two covers the hydrolysis (saccharification) processes applicable to pretreated feedstocks. This includes both acid and enzymatic approaches and also importantly covers the development of particular enzymes to improve this conversion step. This coverage is extended in Part three, with chapters reviewing integrated hydrolysis and fermentation processes, and fermentation and co-fermentation challenges of lignocellulose-derived sugars, as well as separation and purification processes for bioalcohol extraction. Part four examines the analysis, monitoring and modelling approaches relating to process and quality control in the pretreatment, hydrolysis and fermentation steps of lignocellulose-to-bioalcohol production. Finally, Part five discusses the life-cycle assessment of lignocellulose-to-bioalcohol production, as well as the production of valuable chemicals and longer-chain alcohols from lignocellulosic biomass. With its distinguished international team of contributors, Bioalcohol production is a standard reference for fuel engineers, industrial chemists and biochemists, plant scientists and researchers in this area. Provides an overview of the life-cycle assessment of lignocelluloses-to-bioalcohol production Reviews the key features and processes involved in the pre-treatment and fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass for bioalcohol production Examines the analysis, monitoring and modelling approaches relating to process and quality control in pre-treatment, hydrolysis and fermentation