Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol production

Abstract

Bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass into bioethanol is more environment-friendly and sustainable approach than the production of ethanol from food crops such as maize or sorghum. However, degradation of lignocellulosic material is hindered by the presence of lignin which shields cellulose or hemicellulose. Therefore, pretreatment is required to expose cellulose and hemicellulose for their efficient bioconversion to ethanol. Based on the nature of technique used for the degradation of biomass, pretreatment can be physical, chemical or biological. Purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the different methods of pretreatment of biomass for bioethanol production. It is estimated that pretreatment phase contributes more than 20% of total production cost of ethanol and can be considered as one of the most expensive step in terms of capex and also determines the intensity of subsequent steps of the biomass conversion process. The chapter presents a highlight on the latest developments in pretreatment strategies and will serve to expand the knowledge on application of pretreatment for the process development of lignocellulosic biomass-based ethanol.