Need for Biomass Conversion

The need for catalysis in this field is very clear. Molecular conversion technologies of non-food biomass have, so far, only been implemented for fermented cellulose. Even for those products, conversion into energy carriers is not yet very efficient. 

Pyrolysis and liquefaction products are in need of substantial treating processes, the chemistry of which is not yet very well understood. There is also a need and an opportunity to improve the selectivity of Fischer-Tropsch type processes. 

For the longer term, there is the solar energy conversion challenge. Once solar radiation is efficiently captured it will be stored in the form of hydrogen or electricity, with major challenges again for electrocatalysis. 

Jaccard, Sustainable Fossil Fuels The Unusual Suspect in the Quest for Clean and Enduring Energy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (UK), 2005. 

Energy at the Crossroads Global Perspectives and Uncertainties, The MIT Press, Cambridge (USA), 2005. 

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Of course the kind of land needed is quite different. Whereas solar energy can be harvested on the roofs of houses or in unfertile but sunny deserts, arable land is needed for biomass conversion of sugar or alcohol (at least wood should be able to grow). 

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