Forestry Biomass as Carbon Neutral Source for the Production of Biofuels and Aromatics

Abstract

The production of a wide range of value-added products is heavily dependent on conventional fuels. With an annual growth rate of around 7%, the waste to energy sector in India could reach 14 billion USD by 2025. Despite continuous increase in energy demands, several types of underutilized wastes are generated from energy crops, anthropogenic, forestry, and municipal, agricultural, and industrial activities in huge quantities to maintain the country’s growth. It is estimated that nearly 560 billion tons of biomass is available on Earth, while the total primary production is ~100 billion tons/year. There is a surplus of agricultural and forest land in India, which produces about 500 million metric tons of biomass every year. In the last 50 years, agricultural production has increased by more than three times due to the expansion of agricultural soil. As agricultural products become more popular, this demand is expected to increase. Agricultural wastes include crop waste, livestock waste, food processing wastes, and animal wastes. Also, in agriculture farm, 5.3 kg of manure is generated per 100 kg of live weight (wet weight) each day. Biofuels and aromatics can be produced from lignocellulosic biomass, which is an economical, renewable, and abundant alternative to fossil fuels. As part of a bio-based economy and a biorefinery, there is a significant opportunity for the development of biodegradable building blocks (monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, biofuels, and polymers) and materials (fiber products, cellulose nanofibers, starch derivatives, and furfurals). Bioenergy needs to be modernized to fit into a sustainable, environmentally friendly, economically viable, and socially responsible development pathway. Various conversion technologies and pathways are capable of solubilizing diverse chemical constituents and are used for the production of a wide range of bio-derived intermediates and end products. The efficiency of conversion technologies differs greatly and depends on the type of biomass used as raw material, which may contain different fractions and compositions of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. With the rising demand, high cost, and emerging environmental concerns of fossil fuels, the monetization of biomass waste can provide significant benefits. This chapter explores the potential of waste biomass as a promising source for commercially viable industrial chemicals such as monosaccharides, biofuels, and oligosaccharides.