ABSTRACT
Biomass Conversion ......................................................... 190 7.7 Recent Innovative Approaches to Combat the Bottlenecks in
Lignocellulosic Bioconversion to Bioethanol .............................. 191 7.7.1 Enzyme Concoction Approach ......................................... 192
7.7.2 Direct Glucose Production Using Clostridium thermocellum Cultures Supplemented with a Thermostable β-glucosidase ................................................ 192
7.7.3 Single Step Bioethanol Production by Employing Novel Strains ....................................................................... 193
7.7.4 Use of Super Computer in Bioethanol Production ........... 194 7.8 Summary ...................................................................................... 195 Keywords .............................................................................................. 196 References ............................................................................................. 196
ABSTRACT
Thrust towards embarking on building a new economy based on nonfossil fuel energy has imparted impetus to research on lignocellulosic biofuel industry. Lignocellulosics form a large class of renewable feedstocks, which include agricultural residues, municipal solid waste and food processing and industrial wastes. Although lignocellulosics are
very energy rich substrates, unlocking its potential and extending it to practical large scales has a number of bottlenecks. The challenges in instituting and exploiting these resources for biofuel production compel us to rethink current paradigm of supply and usage. Hence there is an urgent need to combat these issues to scale it up and execute at practical scales. Technological constraints do not support cost-effective and competitive production of lignocellulosic bioethanol. In order to produce lignocellulosic bioethanol economically attractive, use of cheaper substrates, inexpensive pretreatment techniques, use of overproducing and recombinant strains for maximized ethanol tolerance and yields, better recovery processes, effective bioprocess integration, exploitation of side products, and reduction of energy and waste may be encouraged. A cohesive and dedicated approach can help in realizing large-scale commercial production of lignocellulosic bioethanol. This chapter is an exhaustive overview of this aspect of lignocellulosic biofuel production. Special case studies have been included to highlight the probable strategies that may be adopted in future.
