Lignocellulosic Biorefining Technologies

Avinash P. Ingle, Anuj Kumar Chandel, Silvio Silverio da Silva, Avinash P. Ingle, Anuj Kumar Chandel, Silvio Silverio da Silva

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781119568827
• eBook ISBN: 9781119568834
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Biology
• Index: Biological Sciences

A text to the advances and development of novel technologies in the production of high-value products from economically viable raw materials

Lignocellulosic Biorefining Technologies is an essential guide to the most recent advances and developments of novel technologies in the production of various high-value products from economically viable raw materials. Written by a team of experts on the topic, the book covers important topics specifically on production of economical and sustainable products such as various biofuels, organic acids, enzymes, biopigments, biosurfactants, etc.

The book highlights the important aspects of lignocellulosic biorefining including structure, function, and chemical composition of the plant cell wall and reviews the details about the various components present in the lignocellulosic biomass and their characterizations. The authors explore the various approaches available for processing lignocellulosic biomass into second generation sugars and focus on the possibilities of utilization of lignocellulosic feedstocks for the production of biofuels and biochemicals. Each chapter includes a range of clear, informative tables and figures, and contains relevant references of published articles. This important text:

• Providescutting-edge information on the recent developments in lignocellulose biorefinery
• Reviews production of various economically important and sustainable products, such as biofuels, organic acids, biopigments, and biosurfactants
• Highlights several broad-ranging areas of recent advances in the utilization of a variety of lignocellulosic feedstocks
• Provides a valuable, authoritative reference for anyone interested in the topic

Written for post-graduate students and researchers in disciplines such as biotechnology, bioengineering, forestry, agriculture, and chemical industry, Lignocellulosic Biorefining Technologies is an authoritative and updated guide to the knowledge about various biorefining technologies.

1
Biorefining of Lignocellulose into Valuable Products

Avinash P. Ingle, Anuj Kumar Chandel, and Silvio Silvério da Silva

Department of Biotechnology, Engineering School of Lorena, University of São Paulo, Lorena, São Paulo, Brazil

Lignocellulosic biomass is a major stakeholder in biorefineries. The transformation of biomass into a wide range of fuels, materials, and valuable chemicals is the overall goal of a biorefinery (de Jong and Jungmeier 2015; Chandel et al. 2018). In principle, a biorefinery would exploit hybrid technologies encompassing various fields including bioengineering, agriculture, and polymer chemistry. In a specific biorefinery, the feedstock is fractionated into valuable constituents through extraction, hydrolysis, fermentation, and controlled pyrolysis for the production of fuels, energy, and high‐value products such as organic acids, biopigments, biosurfactants, etc. (Erickson et al. 2012; Isikgor and Becer 2015; Lee et al. 2019).

The concept of biomass fractionation into its main components offers myriad benefits to the bioprocessing industries harnessing the various feedstocks. Nevertheless, the advancement and exploitation of lignocellulosic biomass fractionation technologies are still in their infancy in terms of technoeconomic viability (FitzPatrick et al. 2010; Chandel et al. 2018). Hence, fundamental and applied research will be critically required in this field in the coming decades.

Currently, the price of biomass is a major impeding factor in the economic production of fuels and value‐added products/chemicals that accounts for up to 40–60% of the overall price (Chandel et al. 2019). For the overall economization of the process with simplicity, process integration is an important necessity. The second‐generation biomass together with waste feedstocks are promising sources for the production of value‐added products owing to their surplus availability, cost‐effectiveness and non‐requirement of land with no competition with food crops (Chandel and Silveira 2017). However, the exploitation of lignocellulosic biomasses to generate fuels and valuable chemicals is challenging because of the complexity of pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis via the synergistic action of cellulases to yield cellulosic sugars which are considered as renewable building blocks (Chandel et al. 2019). Cellulosic sugars can be further converted into a plethora of bio‐based products such as alcohols, organic acids, alkenes, lipids, etc. (Lee et al. 2019). However, the production potential of biochemicals from these agro‐residues have not yet been investigated at large scale under biorefinery conditions (Sanford et al. 2016).

Considering the enormous potential of different lignocellulosic biomass types in biorefinery, as mentioned above, we have attempted in this book to explore the high‐value biorefining products which can be created using a variety of lignocellulosic biomass as renewable and economically viable resources.

The book contains 15 chapters. Chapter 1 by Ingle et al., which is also the book preface, presents the overall impact of lignocellulose biorefineries in a nutshell in addition to summarizing each chapter's content. Chapter 2 by Ferrand and colleagues is broadly focused on the various bulk and specialty chemicals present in the plant cell wall. Special emphasis has been given to important aspects such as structure, function, and chemical composition of the plant cell wall. In addition, all the promising valuable chemicals and bioactive compounds present the plant cell wall are discussed in detail. Chapter 3 by Bustos et al. provides details about the different components present in the lignocellulosic biomass and their characterization; different approaches available for processing lignocellulosic biomass into second‐generation sugars are also discussed. Sheetal et al. in Chapter 4 focus on the possibilities of utilization of lignocellulosic feedstocks for the production of biohydrogen. It is well known that hydrogen energy, particularly biohydrogen, is gaining a lot of interest as a sustainable and renewable alternative to fast‐depleting fossil fuels. It also provides an additional benefit of not emitting any greenhouse gases (GHG), which provides an incentive to all countries struggling to meet the GHG limitations as per the Paris agreement to combat climate change to adopt this clean fuel. Various recent studies have proved that lignocellulosic biomass sources can be used as an alternate feedstock for biohydrogen production as they are abundant, cheap, and eco‐friendly.

Chapter 5 by Bhagat and co‐authors emphasizes the role of a variety of lignocellulosic biomass in the production of another form of clean energy – biodiesel. In this chapter, the authors briefly discuss the major constituents of lignocellulosic biomass, and the composition and structure of each of the components present in the biomass have been explained. Most importantly, recent advances in the production of biodiesel using lignocellulosic biomass through different fermentation approaches have been discussed. It is forecast that the demand for renewable energy for transportation is likely to grow by 19% till 2023 whereas approximately a 15% rise in biofuel production is expected in the same time period. In this context, biodiesel can be seen as a renewable energy source that can be used for partial or even total replacement of diesel.

Chapter 6 by Kalita et al. covers the production of bioelectricity from lignocellulosic biomass. Electricity is a vital form of energy which plays a significant role in defining human development. On one side, industrial and economic developments are transforming our way of living and therefore demand for electricity demand is continuously growing. However, on the other side, this continuous increase in energy demand leads to fossil fuel depletion and environmental degradation. Therefore, to resolve these issues, more emphasis is now being place on harvesting sustainable energy from different renewable energy sources like solar, biomass, wind, etc. In this context, the authors have discussed the various options which can be used in the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into valuable fuels through thermochemical conversion technologies.

As mentioned earlier, biohydrogen, biodiesel, and bioelectricity are imporant high‐value products commonly produced from lignocellulosic feedstocks through different biorefining strategies. Lignocellulosic materials can also be potentially utilized in the production of other valuable products with applications in numerous sectors like food and agriculture, pharmaceutics, biomedicine, cosmetics, etc. In view of this, various chapters in the present book have a special emphasis on different lignocellulosic biorefining products. In Chapter 7, Machado et al. provide a special focus on the production of biopolymers using different lignocellulosic materials as important sources of carbon, nitrogen, etc. The authors report that production of biopolymers from renewable resources like lignocellulosic feedstocks has been increasing due to environmental, political and economic concerns about conventional plastics utilization. A wide range of biopolymers with many application possibilities can be produced from lignocellulosic biomass, allowing the replacement of many conventional plastics. Therefore, in this chapter, various key aspects including types and properties of biopolymers, different approaches used for biopolymer production, applications of biopolymers, and the advantages and challenges of obtaining biopolymers from lignocellulosic biomass are critically discussed.

In the same vein, Marcelino and co‐authors explain the importance of lignocellulosic biomass in the production of biosurfactants in Chapter 8. Biosurfactants are amphipathic molecules synthesized by microorganisms (bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi) using a variety of lignocellulosic feedstocks as a source of carbon and nitrogen which are essential for the growth of these microorganisms. Biosurfactants have attracted a great deal of attention across the world due to their unique and novel surface‐active and/or emulsifying, antimicrobial, and antitumor properties. Important topics including the types, structure, and functions of biosurfactants, fermentation approaches used for biosurfactant production and applications of biosurfactants are critically discussed in Chapter 8.

Chapter 9 by Abdeshahian et al. is focused on the role of lignocellulosic materials in the production of different enzymes. In this chapter, the authors propose that lignocellulosic biomass or wastes from various sources like agriculture, forest, industries, etc. can be employed as promising raw materials in the production of value‐added products such as enzymes using various biorefining technologies. Generally, the production of enzymes is carried out by microorganisms through the fermentation process in which organic carbon contents are provided in the form of lignocellulose which is utilized as a nutrient source by fermenting organisms. The utilization of lignocellulosic materials could provide a cost‐effective raw material for enzyme production which in turn reduces the enzyme production cost.

Considering the vital role of organic acids in various biological processes, it is the need of the hour to produce different organic acids using simple, efficient, economic, and environmentally sustainable approaches. In this context, lignocellulosic biomass can be used as inexpensive and renewable sources for the production of organic acids. Therefore, de Cárdenas and co‐authors in Chapter 10 discuss the production of organic acids using lignocellulosic feedstocks. Moreover, recent advances in the production of different acids using lignocellulosic biomass are discussed in this chapter along with important related factors.

Chapter 11 by Terán‐Hilares et al. covers recent advances in the valorization of lignin into value‐added products. Lignin is one of the most abundant macromolecules on Earth. It is a complex fraction in biomass composed of various aromatic building blocks which are cross‐linked with different carbon and ether linkages. Lignin has broad scope for valorization to aromatics, polymers, and other value‐added materials. However, in spite of the attractiveness of lignin as a natural source for the production of a wide range of products, there are various technologic barriers which limit its ubiquitous use at the industrial level. Considering all t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• List of Contributors
• 1 Biorefining of Lignocellulose into Valuable Products
• 2 Bulk and Specialty Chemicals from Plant Cell Wall Chemistry
• 3 Characterization of Lignocellulosic Biomass and Processing for Second‐Generation Sugars Production
• 4 Production of Biohydrogen from Lignocellulosic Feedstocks
• 5 Recent Advances in the Production of Biodiesel Using Lignocellulosic Biomass
• 6 Bioelectricity Production from Lignocellulosic Biomass
• 7 Biopolymers from Lignocellulosic Biomass
• 8 Sustainable Production of Biosurfactants andTheir Applications
• 9 Lignocellulose as a Renewable Carbon Source for Microbial Synthesis of Different Enzymes
• 10 Production of Organic Acids Via Fermentation of Sugars Generated from Lignocellulosic Biomass
• 11 Valorization of Lignin Into Value‐Added Chemicals and Materials
• 12 Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass Through Pyrolysis to Promote a Sustainable Value Chain for Brazilian Agribusiness
• 13 Integrated Process of Biomass Thermochemical Conversion to Obtain Pyrolytic Sugars for Biofuels and Bioproducts
• 14 Life Cycle Analysis of Lignocellulosic Conversion into Fuels, Energy, and Chemicals
• 15 Technoeconomic Analysis of Biorefinery Processes for Biofuel and Other Important Products
• Index
• End User License Agreement