Biomass To Biofuels

Focusing on challenges to the billion-ton renewable fuels vision, this book discusses the technological and business developments needed to industrialize biofuels on a global scale. Technological issues addressed include fermentation and downstream processing technologies, as compared to current industrial practice and process economics. As the demand for renewable energy solutions becomes increasingly urgent, what are the key challenges preventing industrialisation of biofuels on a global scale? Biofuels are rapidly emerging as a popular solution to address global warming, rising energy costs and fuel supply shortages. However the environmental, economic and energetic benefits of biofuels still remain challenged. Amidst the global debate, Biomass to Biofuels: Strategies for Global Industries addresses these challenges through a discussion of the latest scientific advances in biofuel manufacturing. Combining scientific and business perspectives, the book provides a comprehensive overview of biofuel production technologies, highlighting both manufacturing and financial concerns in order to define an appropriate R&D strategy. The text is divided into five parts: •Structure of the Bioenergy Business: Reviews the fundamental drivers of the biofuels market •Diesel from Biomass: Includes chapters on liquefaction and gasification of solid biomass, Fisher-Tropsch and biofuels from microalgae •Ethanol & Butanol: Evaluates fermentation and downstream processing technologies vs. current industrial practice •Hydrogen, Methane & Methanol: Describes generation of hydrogen by microbial cultures and industrial scale production of methane and methanol •Perspectives: Considers genetic engineering of biomass-producing crops and financing strategies for large scale biofuel production This is a valuable handbook for scientists and policy makers working in the biofuels industry, as well as those working in the related fields of petrochemicals and agriculture. It is also an important resource for students and academic researchers working on renewable energy solutions and bioprocessing technology. Focusing on the key challenges that still impede the realization of the billion-ton renewable fuels vision, this book integrates technological development and business development rationales to highlight the key technological.developments that are necessary to industrialize biofuels on a global scale. Technological issues addressed in this work include fermentation and downstream processing technologies, as compared to current industrial practice and process economics. Business issues that provide the lens through which the technological review is performed span the entire biofuel value chain, from financial mechanisms to fund biotechnology start-ups in the biofuel arena up to large green field manufacturing projects, to raw material farming, collection and transport to the bioconversion plant, manufacturing, product recovery, storage, and transport to the point of sale. Emphasis has been placed throughout the book on providing a global view that takes into account the intrinsic characteristics of various biofuels markets from Brazil, the EU, the US, or Japan, to emerging economies as agricultural development and biofuel development appear undissociably linked.

Collectif (Auteur) - Verschenen op 17/02/2010 bij John Wiley & Sons Inc.