The Implications of Lignocellulosic Biomass Chemical Composition for the Production of Advanced Biofuels

The majority of terrestrial biomass accumulates as plant cell walls, the main structural component of leaves, stems, roots, fruits, and seeds. The main constituents of plant cell walls are lignin and polysaccharides, which can be transformed into liquid fuel molecules through chemical transformation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioscience 2014-03, Vol.64 (3), p.192-201
Main Authors: SOREK, NADAV, YEATS, TREVOR H., SZEMENYEI, HEIDI, YOUNGS, HEATHER, SOMERVILLE, CHRIS R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetylation
Biofuels
Biomass
Biomass production
Cell walls
Chemical composition
Conservation
Fermentation
Flowers & plants
Lignin
Molecules
Overview Articles
Plants
Polymers
Polysaccharides
Pretreatment
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Summary:The majority of terrestrial biomass accumulates as plant cell walls, the main structural component of leaves, stems, roots, fruits, and seeds. The main constituents of plant cell walls are lignin and polysaccharides, which can be transformed into liquid fuel molecules through chemical transformation or microbial fermentation. Because of the large scale of demand for fuel, it is essential that biomass-to-fuel conversion processes maximize conservation of energy in the products. Here, we summarize some of the challenges posed to these processes by the chemical complexity of plant cell walls.
ISSN:0006-3568
1525-3244
DOI:10.1093/biosci/bit037