Page 292 - Refining Biomass Residues for Sustainable Energy and Bioproducts

260 Refining Biomass Residues for Sustainable Energy and Bioproducts

About 800 million tons of agriculture residues have been released to the environ-
ment in India in 2010. Other than the residues generated during postharvest proce-
dures, a series of products are obtained during the processing of materials, which
remain unutilized as wastes. If these components were left untreated, it will create
undesirable impact on the environment by leaching out the nutrients from the sur-
face of the soil.

12.1.2 Status of agriculture residues as a source of biorefinery
Agriculture feedstock is the major energy crop mainly comprising of carbohydrates
and lignin that undergo biochemical conversion resulting in the production of vari-
ety of valuable products. The conversion process requires proper pretreatment and
hydrolysis that take place by (1) acid hydrolysis and esterification process through
chemical conversion methodologies, (2) gasification and pyrolysis through thermo-
chemical conversion methodologies, (3) fermentation and enzymatic methods
through biochemical conversions, and (4) by means of mechanical processes.
During this process the residues are converted into sugars that will be utilized by
the microorganisms, and they are converted to biofuels (Ricardo Soccol et al.,
2011). The most abundantly used cereal for the production of biofuel is wheat due
to its lignocellulosic content. Rice and barley are the second major raw material,
and the residues obtained from them are employed as potential raw materials for
the production of heat, electricity, and biofuels (Ranjan et al., 2013). Potato is the
fourth largest crop that is cultivated across the globe followed after corn, rice, and
wheat.
Sugarcane is one of world’s important agricultural crops with long history of use
for the production of energy across the global level. Many countries in tropical and
subtropical regions use sugarcane as an ideal feedstock for production of fossil-
based chemicals, polymers, food, and energy. The composition of sugarcane varies
depend upon the harvesting season and the cultivation conditions. One of the signif-
icant advantages of the crop is the capability to harvest the same crop in a repetitive
manner from the same area (Rudorff et al., 2010). The sugarcane crop is one that
produces the major agricultural residues with an annual production of about 280
million tons (Chandel et al., 2012). Sugarcane residues include bagasse, leaves, and
tops which contains cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and proteins as major nutrient
component, and it may vary according to the age of the plant and the soil conditions
(Zhao et al., 2009; Canilha et al., 2011; Diedericks et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2013).
Large quantities of biomass wastes from sugarcane are produced annually
throughout the world. Mainly the crop residues are not utilized and it is deposited
in the lands as wastes. These wastes are classified based on the seasons and waste
generated by the sugar industry occupies prime position in the biorefinery approach
due to continuous supply and nutritive content.
Sugarcane biorefineries occupy competent role due to its relative abundance
which possesses sugar syrups, molasses, bagasse, and harvesting residues into a
plethora of bioproducts. Sugarcane trash has almost as same property as that of
bagasse in producing series of value-added chemicals along with fuel. It is also