ABSTRACT

Next-generation biofuels from renewable sources have gained interest among research investigators, industrialists, and governments due to major concerns on the volatility of oil prices, climate change, and depletion of oil reserves. Biobutanol has drawn signicant attention as an alternative transportation fuel due to its superior fuel properties over ethanol. e advantages of butanol are its high energy content, better blending with gasoline, less hydroscopic nature, lower volatility, direct use in convention engines, low corrosiveness, etc. Butanol production through (acetone, butanol, and ethanol) ABE fermentation is a well-established process, but it has several drawbacks like feedstock cost, strain degeneration, product toxicity, and low product concentrations. Lignocellulosic biomass is considered as the most abundant, renewable, low-cost feedstock for biofuels. Production of butanol from lignocellulosic biomass is more complicated due to the recalcitrance of feedstock and inhibitors generated during the pretreatment and hydrolysis process. Advanced fermentation and product recovery techniques are being researched to make biobutanol industrially viable.