Lignocellulosic Biomass Processing

Agricultural and forest processing always generates a tremendous amount of biomass that can be utilized to produce bioproducts, biopolymers or biofuels. Forestry and crop residues have been traditionally used as animal feed directly or, after pretreatments, to improve 

Food and Industrial Bioproducts and Bioprocessing, First Edition. Edited by Nurhan Turgut Dunford. 

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Sen, SJVI., Giirbiiz, E.I., Wettstein, S.G., Martfn-Alonso, D., Dumesic, J.A., Maravelias, C.T., 2012b. Production of butene oligomers as transportation fuels using butene for esterification of levulinic acid from lignocellulosic biomass process synthesis and technoeconomic evaluation. Green Chemistry 14, 3289—3294. 

Figure 2.13 did not include all the biomass conversion processes discussed above. It only considered those that produce transportation fuels. The processes that convert bio-feedstock into biocrude or electricity could not be included because their products have a different value than the transportation fuels. Such a comparison can be attempted by displaying the total manufacturing cost of biobased products in a graph that shows typical relationships between the price of crude and that its derivatives, i.e., of fuel oil, transportation fuel and electricity. This has been done in Fig. 2.14 for the lignocellulose conversion processes. 

NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory). Lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol process design and economics utilizing co-current dilute add prehydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis for com stover. Golden, CO US (2002). Report available on web http //www.mel.gov/ docs/ fy02osti/32438.pdf... 

Miranda, R. 2004. Hydrogen from lignocellulosic biomass via thermochemical processes. Energy Edu Sci Technol 13 21-30. 

Xylan is an essential constituent of hardwoods, softwoods, and annual plants. In enzymatic processing of lignocellulosic biomass, xylanolytic enzymes may be used either individually, in selected mixtures for specific effects on only the xylan component of the raw material, or in mixtures with cellulolytic, pectinolytic or amylolytic enzymes. 

Lignocellulosic Biomass to Ethanol Process Design and Economics Utilizing Co-Current... 

Cellulose ethanol has the potential to displace a significant amount of petroleum in the United States, reducing the nation s dependence on foreign imports (1). The biologic processes favored for producing ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass require a pretreatment step before high yields can be realized, and the accessibility of cellulose to cellulase enzymes has... 

McMillan, J. D. (1992), Process for Pretreating Lignocellulosic Biomass A Review,NKEL/ TP-421-4978, November, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO. 

In reality, while the sole products of existing pulp and paper manufacturing facilities today are pulp and paper (phase I biorefinery), these facilities are geared to collect and process substantial amounts of lignocellulosic biomass. They thus provide an ideal foundation to develop advanced lignocellulose feedstock biorefineries. Additional processes could be built around pulp mills, either as an extension or as an across-the-fence -type company (Agenda 2020). 

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