Fuels and Chemicals from lignocelluloses: A Short Overview

Abstract

This paper looked at the potential and available alternative conversion paths for fuels and chemicals production away from the conventional conversion processes of fossil based fuels. Lignocellulosic biomasses are abundant, renewable, and domestically available energy resources. Though with its own attendant challenges, there are achievements and prospects that have been made in developing environmentally friendly processes for small and large scale conversion of lignocelluloses to different fuels and chemicals. With the continuous reliance on fossil fuels, there is the ever increasing climate change caused by the increasing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide. Biomass from marine, trees, plants, animal wastes, food and non- food crops, grains, and wood based can produce fuels such as ethanol, butanol, and other chemicals through some promising technologies. Therefore, identifying ways to improving production efficiency of fuels and chemicals during biomass conversion processes to a sustainable level is very crucial.