ABSTRACT
The production of fuels from renewable sources, such as biomass, is an interesting alternative to mitigate climate change and to progressively displace petroleum as a raw material for the transportation sector. A number of technologies have been developed in recent years to achieve conversion of diverse biomass feedstocks (e.g., sugars, vegetable oils and lignocellulose) into a variety of biofuels (e.g., bioethanol, biodiesel, higher alcohols and green hydrocarbons). This chapter provides a brief overview of these technologies, taking into consideration aspects such as the complexity of the process and the type of fuel produced (e.g., conventional and advanced). Particular emphasis is given to aqueous-phase catalytic routes to process biomass derivatives such as glycerol, hydroxymethyl furfural, levulinic acid and g-valerolactone into green hydrocarbons.
