Biorefinery of Lignocellulosics for Biofuels and Biochemicals

Abstract

Sustainable development of the world's economy would require a paradigm shift from the current fossil fuel-based energy and chemical production model to that of a renewable supply-based model, where lignocellulosic biorefinery has a great potential. In this chapter, we review and discuss the current knowledge and progress on biorefinery of lignocellulosics for the production of biofuels and biochemicals, along with the socio-economic and technical problems this industry has to tackle. The chemical, microbiological, and technical aspects for the enzymatic conversion of lignocellulose to the platform sugars were examined in detail. In particular, we addressed the cost reduction issue of lignocellulose degradation, which is otherwise a major impediment of the biorefinery industry. We further discussed the biotechnological and bioengineering efforts to convert lignocellulosic sugars to biofuels and biochemicals. These include the predominant biofuel ethanol, advanced biofuels such as butanol with better compatibility to current infrastructure, and bulk and fine chemicals such as organic acids and isoprenoids. Various metabolic engineering strategies were also summarized to enable further development of microbial strains for biofuel and biochemical production. We believe that the renewable lignocellulosic biofuel and biochemical industry are critical contributors to a sustainable future that is independent of the fossil fuels and their derived products.