How biotech can transform biofuels

Abstract

For cellulosic ethanol to become a reality, biotechnological solutions should focus on optimizing the conversion of biomass to sugars.

Comparative study of corn stover pretreated by dilute acid and cellulose solvent‐based lignocellulose fractionation: Enzymatic hydrolysis, supramolecular structure, and substrate accessibility

“…Such differences (93% digestibility for COSLIF samples achieved within 24 h vs. 60% for DA samples within 72 h) were more significant at a low enzyme loading of 5 FPUs. Although intensive efforts have been made to increase specific cellulase activity and decrease cellulase production costs Lynd et al, 2008;Zhang et al, 2006b), additional reductions in enzyme usage costs are important to promote the economy of biorefineries.…”

“…Production of second generation biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol from renewable lignocellulosic biomass will lead the bioindustrial revolution necessary to the transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to a sustainable carbohydrate economy (Lynd et al, 2008;Zhang, 2008). Use of biofuels will offer several benefits, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions, decreased competition with tightening food supplies, enhanced rural economic development, and increased national energy security (Demain et al, 2005;Himmel et al, 2007;Lynd et al, 2002;Zhang et al, 2006b).…”

“…Efficient, cost-competitive production of fermentable sugars from recalcitrant biomass remains the largest obstacle to emerging cellulosic ethanol biorefineries (Lynd et al, 2008;Wyman, 2007;Zhang, 2008). Biomass saccharification via biological conversion involves two steps-lignocellulose pretreatment or fractionation followed by enzymatic cellulose (and perhaps hemicellulose) hydrolysis.…”

Recombinant hyperthermophilic enzyme expression in plants: a novel approach for lignocellulose digestion

“…for the large-scale production of economically and environmentally sustainable biofuels [2][3][4]. The main component of plant biomass used as second-generation feedstock is the plant cell wall, which constitutes 70-80% of lignocellulosic polymers.…”

Evaluation of microorganisms performance in hemicellulosic hydrolyzate detoxification and sugarcane bagasse lignin removal for ethanol production

“…Among them, only cellulose and hemicellulose can be used to produce ethanol by fermentation of carbohydrates obtained by chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis (saccharification). The central issue of this technology is to overcome the recalcitrance of cellulosic biomass (LYND et al, 2008).…”