ABSTRACT
Lignocellulosic wastes are potential agricultural by-products to figure in modern biorefineries. Their enriched carbohydrate content provides an adequate nutritional media for microbial growth. Accordingly, several valued biomolecules can be biosynthesized through the fermentation of biomasses. Despite the worldwide and abundant availability of lignocellulosic wastes, quite a few challenges must be addressed and overcome in order to favor their cost-effective and ecological utilization. Indeed, bottlenecks regarding biomass and downstream processing as well as microbial metabolism limitations are usually eminent issues which mitigate the global replacement of petrochemicals to biomass-derived products. In this sense, aiming at leveraging critical insights for the provision of more efficient processes, this chapter discusses the current biotechnological prospects of biomass utilization, entailing technical advancements, and reminiscent challenges in bioprocesses.
