Advanced Biodiesel and Biojet Fuels from Lignocellulosic Biomass

Abstract

Global energy demands and environmental concerns have stimulated interest in renewable, carbon-neutral diesel and jet fuel from biomass. Lignocellulosic biomass is considered as a promising resource for the future bioindustry. The plant cell wall is a polymer network comprised largely of the sugar polymers such as cellulose and hemicellulose, and the polyphenolic lignin, and considerable efforts have been made toward the conversion of lignocellulose into fermentable sugars for their use in microbial fuel synthesis. Genetically engineered microbial hosts can utilize these sugars as a carbon source to biosynthesize a broad panel of bioproducts including fatty acid-, isoprenoid-, and alcohol-derived compounds, which can be used as precursors or directly as fungible alternatives to diesel and jet fuel. In this chapter, we review the principles of biofuel synthesis from biomass-derived sugar, summarize the promising technologies of biomass deconstruction and pathway engineering, and discuss the current applications of biodiesel and biojet fuels.