Biofuels Production and Processing Technology

Abstract

The negative global warming impact and global environmental pollution due to fossil fuels mean that the main challenge of modern society is finding alternatives to conventional fuels. In this scenario, biofuels derived from renewable biomass represent the most promising renewable energy sources. Depending on the biomass used by the fermentation technologies, it is possible obtain first-generation biofuels produced from food crops, second-generation biofuels produced from non-food feedstock, mainly starting from renewable lignocellulosic biomasses, and third-generation biofuels, represented by algae or food waste biomass. Although biofuels appear to be the closest alternative to fossil fuels, it is necessary for them to be produced in competitive quantities and costs, requiring both improvements to production technologies and diversification of feedstock. This Special Issue is focused on technological innovations, which include but are not limited to the utilization of different feedstock; different biomass pretreatments; fermentation strategies, such as simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) or separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF); different applied microorganisms used as monoculture or co-culture; and different setups for biofuel fermentation processes.

Comparative evaluation of bioethanol fermentation process parameters using RSM, ANN and ANFIS

“…7 Research on bioethanol studies has directed much effort to increasing biofuel yield at a lower cost of production for it to be competitive with the price of fossil fuels in the market. [8][9][10] Bioethanol research focus has gained attention in different niches such as the choice of suitable feedstocks, 3 rich nitrogen sources as media supplements, 11 microbial and genetic manipulation of the organisms used for bioconversion, 12 selective fermentation control parameters in ethanol synthesis, 10 bioreactor designs and configuration for fermentation, 13 and optimization studies using different techniques like response surface methodology (RSM), artificial intelligence (ANN) and the genetic algorithm. 14,15 One of the most important nutritional constituents required for active microbial support in most fermentation processes is nitrogen.…”

“…1,2 The energy transition is being considered with bioenergy gaining attention in the industrial sector owing to the mass availability of basic feedstocks used for its production and the eco-friendly fuel made available as an end product after the bioconversion of the abundant feedstock. 3 Biofuels like bioethanol, biogas, biodiesel and biohydrogen have emerged as viable replacements for depleting fossil fuel reservoirs. [4][5][6] One of the most prevalent liquid biofuels in the world is bioethanol, with a market value of $6.8 billion in 2019, projected to reach $7.2 billion by 2024.…”

“…The world's rapidly rising fossil fuel consumption and the greenhouse effects have led to environmental pollution and climate change issues 1,2 . The energy transition is being considered with bioenergy gaining attention in the industrial sector owing to the mass availability of basic feedstocks used for its production and the eco‐friendly fuel made available as an end product after the bioconversion of the abundant feedstock 3 . Biofuels like bioethanol, biogas, biodiesel and biohydrogen have emerged as viable replacements for depleting fossil fuel reservoirs 4–6 .…”