The development of renewable and sustainable lignocellulosic biofuels is currently receiving worldwide attention and investment. Despite decades of research, there remain significant challenges to be overcome before these biofuels can be produced in large volumes at competitive prices. One obstacle is the lack of efficient and affordable catalytic systems to dissolve and hydrolyze polysaccharides into sugars. These sugars are then fed to microrganisms and fermented into biofuels. The price of these catalysts, be they biological, thermochemical, or chemical in nature, represent one of the largest costs in the conversion process. There are a number of catalytic schemes, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, available. This book presents a general yet substantial review of the most promising processes and the spectrum of biomass pretreatment, enzymes, chemical catalysts, and hybrid approaches of hydrolyzing biomass into fermentable sugars. It is the only currently available book that compares the biochemical, chemical, and thermochemical conversion processes to biofuel production.

The Role of Catalysis for the Sustainable Production of Bio-fuels and Bio-chemicals describes the importance of catalysis for the sustainable production of biofuels and biochemicals, focused primarily on the state-of-the-art catalysts and catalytic processes expected to play a decisive role in the "green" production of fuels and chemicals from biomass. In addition, the book includes general elements regarding the entire chain of biomass production, conversion, environment, economy, and life-cycle assessment. Very few books are available on catalysis in production schemes using biomass or its primary conversion products, such as bio-oil and lignin. This book fills that gap with detailed discussions of: - Catalytic pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass - Hybrid biogasoline by co-processing in FCC units - Fischer-Tropsch synthesis to biofuels (biomass-to-liquid process) - Steam reforming of bio-oils to hydrogen With energy prices rapidly rising, environmental concerns growing, and regulatory apparatus evolving, this book is a resource with tutorial, research, and technological value for chemists, chemical engineers, policymakers, and students. - Includes catalytic reaction mechanism schemes and gives a clear understanding of catalytic processes - Includes flow diagrams of bench-, pilot- and industrial-scale catalytic processing units and demonstrates the various process technologies involved, enabling easy selection of the best process - Incorporates many tables, enabling easy comparison of data based on a critical review of the available literature

Plant biomass is attracting increasing attention as a sustainable resource for large-scale production of renewable fuels and chemicals. However, in order to successfully compete with petroleum, it is vital that biomass conversion processes are designed to minimize costs and maximize yields. Advances in pretreatment technology are critical in order to develop high-yielding, cost-competitive routes to renewable fuels and chemicals. Aqueous Pretreatment of Plant Biomass for Biological and Chemical Conversion to Fuels and Chemicals presents a comprehensive overview of the currently available aqueous pretreatment technologies for cellulosic biomass, highlighting the fundamental chemistry and biology of each method, key attributes and limitations, and opportunities for future advances. Topics covered include: • The importance of biomass conversion to fuels • The role of pretreatment in biological and chemical conversion of biomass • Composition and structure of biomass, and recalcitrance to conversion • Fundamentals of biomass pretreatment at low, neutral and high pH • Ionic liquid and organosolv pretreatments to fractionate biomass • Comparative data for application of leading pretreatments and effect of enzyme formulations • Physical and chemical features of pretreated biomass • Economics of pretreatment for biological processing • Methods of analysis and enzymatic conversion of biomass streams • Experimental pretreatment systems from multiwell plates to pilot plant operations This comprehensive reference book provides an authoritative source of information on the pretreatment of cellulosic biomass to aid those experienced in the field to access the most current information on the topic. It will also be invaluable to those entering the growing field of biomass conversion.

Biomass has received considerable attention as a sustainable feedstock that can replace diminishing fossil fuels for the production of energy and chemicals. At the present moment in the oil refining, petrochemical and chemical industry, after fractionation of crude oil, various fractions are upgraded either to fuels or functionalized to produce intermediates and specialty chemicals. An analogous concept of biorefining is based on the utilization of biomass as a renewable source of carbon, which could be transformed to valuable chemicals. Although various aspects of biomass transformations are frequently discussed in the literature, chemical engineering aspects of such transformations are commonly not considered. The aim of the present book is to fill this void. - Updates and informs the reader on the latest research findings using original reviews - Written by leading industry experts and scholars - Reviews and analyzes developments in the field

This book covers biomass modification to facilitate the industrial degradation processing and other characteristics of feedstocks and new technologies for the conversion of lignocelluloses into biofuels and other products.

To meet changing market demands that have stringent emission standards and to ensure proper performance in refinery units, evaluation of novel catalyst designs and results from material characterization and testing of catalysts are of crucial importance for refiners as well as for catalyst manufacturers. This book highlights recent developments in the application of refinery catalysts in selected units such as fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), hydrogen production for hydroprocessing units, hydrotreating, hydrocracking, and sustainable processing of biomass into biofuels.

This book presents the latest advances in and current research perspectives on the field of urban/industrial solid waste recycling for bio-energy and bio-fuel recovery. It chiefly focuses on five main thematic areas, namely bioreactor landfills coupled with energy and nutrient recovery; microbial insights into anaerobic digestion; greenhouse emission assessment; pyrolysis techniques for special waste treatment; and industrial waste stabilization options. In addition, it compiles the results of case studies and solid waste management perspectives from different countries.