Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Climate change
Biomass and its conversion to products
Biorefineries
Life cycle assessment (LCA
Structure of the book
References
Photosynthesis, the Ultimate Beginning for Biorefineries
Introduction
Chloroplasts
Photosynthetic pigments and antenna complexes
Stages of photosynthesis
Light reactions
Dark reactions
C3, C4 and CAM plants
Photosynthetic efficiency
References
Features of First Generation Biorefineries
Introduction
First-generation biofeedstocks
First-generation biofuels
Biobased chemicals and materials derived from food plants
Environmental performance
References
Cellulose, the Predominant Constituent of Biomass
Introduction
Structure
Biosynthesis
Properties and applications
References
Enzymatic and non-Biological Degradation of Cellulose
Introduction
Enzymatic hydrolysis
Non-biological degradation
References
Hemicelluloses and Lignin, Other Key Constituents of Biomass
Introduction
Hemicelluloses
Lignin
References
Pretreatments of Lignocellulosic Biomass
Introduction
Physical pretreatments
Chemical pretreatments
Physicochemical treatments
Biological pretreatment
Summary
References
Biochemical Conversion of Biomass
Introduction
Processes: pretreatment, hydrolysis and fermentation
Life cycle assessments
Production of cellulosic ethanol: case studies
Production of lignocellulose-derived chemicals: case studies
Overview of selected companies
References
Thermochemical Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass
Introduction
Processes
Life cycle assessments
Production of fuels and/or chemicals: case studies
Overview of selected companies
References
Perspectives
Introduction
Representative programs in the U.S. and EU
Cellulosic and lignocellulosic feedstocks
Lignocellulosic processes
Fuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass
The sustainability challenge
References