Page 155 - Lignocellulosic Biomass to Liquid Biofuels

130 Lignocellulosic Biomass to Liquid Biofuels

World total
Billion litres
127.7 billion litres
120
Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO)
100 Biodiesel
Ethanol
80

60

40

20

0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Figure 4.1 Ethanol, biodiesel, and HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) Global
Production, 2004 14 [9].

agricultural residues are produced world-wide annually as agro-forestry
6
6
by-products and that 1376 3 10 t cellulose and 848 3 10 t hemicellulose
are produced globally every year. Furthermore, it has been estimated that
6
1300 3 10 t of food are wasted every year, corresponding to one-third of
the food globally produced for human consumption [16,17].
Lignocellulosic biomass can be considered the most abundant carbon-
neutral renewable source, which can decrease CO 2 emissions and atmo-
spheric pollution. Furthermore, its major component, the cellulose, is the
strongest potential candidate for the substitution of petroleum-based poly-
mers because of its ecofriendly properties such as renewability, biocompat-
ibility, and biodegradability [18].
Table 4.1 shows the comparison of various biodiesel lignocellulosic
sources grown worldwide in terms of oil yield, oil content, land area use,
productivity, and price.
The development of lignocellulosic biomass conversion to biodiesel
and polymers still remains a big challenge due to the technical and eco-
nomic obstacles [12,15,19] mostly related to the biomass recalcitrance
stemming from the barriers naturally developed to avoid the degradation
from natural infections. The future of second-generation biofuel produc-
tion will be critically affected by the price of the oil, as well. It is