Sustainable Production of Value-Added Commodities from Biomass Feedstocks

Abstract

Biomass is the most abundant bio-renewable resources on earth. This makes it a valuable resource not only for energy production but also for a lot of other valuable products that could be derived from it. The harvesting and processing of this feedstock into value-added products currently require a lot of energy and water as well as utilization of various types of chemical cocktails. With the increasing global demand for sustainable production and consumption, the future outlook in the lignocellulose biomass conversion to value-added products would be in sustainable production of energy crops, re-examination of logistic handling of lignocellulose biomass for sustainability, and development/utilization of alternative chemicals for its conversion to value-added products. In general, the future would focus on redesign of biomass conversion technologies for sustainability as well as progressive development of circular business models in the biomass industry. The future of the biomass industry will also see deployment of artificial intelligence than what is seen now. Some of the challenges to this transition, especially in the developing countries, would be the availability of enabling infrastructure and the requisite/sustained sociopolitical goodwill to push through the required changes. Sustainability education for the future generations of engineers and policy makers would be crucial in overcoming the challenges. Sustained public education would also be necessary to communicate the pros and cons of the changes to the public. This chapter would provide details on the current state of lignocellulose biomass conversion to value-added products from sustainability standpoint. It will also expound on the identified future outlooks and challenges as well as give some more insights on the solution pathways to addressing the challenges.