Unrealized Potential of Lignocellulose Fuels

Lignocellulose Crop residues Biochemical processing ) Carbon 

Photosynthetic microorganisms Hydrolysis/fermentation ) Liquid fuels Biodiesel 

FIGURE 17.26 Feedstocks, processes, and products involved in the conversion of biomass to fuels and energy. 

Sustainable preparation of biofuels from biomass makes it desirable to recover nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium, and micronutrient elements from the biomass during processing and return these materials to soil. Chemically fixed nitrogen, predominantly in the form of proteins in the biofuels, is lost during biofuel production, but nitrogen supply from the vast atmospheric reservoir of N2 makes nitrogen loss a nonproblem. 

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