A review of the current state of biofuels production from lignocellulosic biomass using thermochemical conversion routes

The rapid increase in energy demand, the extensive use of fossil fuels and the urgent need to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions have raised concerns in the transportation sector. Alternate renewable and sustainable sources have become the ultimate solution to overcome the expected depletion of fossil fuels. The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to liquid (BtL) transportation fuels seems to be a promising path and presents advantages over first generation biofuels and fossil fuels. Therefore, development of BtL systems is critical to increase the potential of this resource in a sustainable and economic way. Conversion of lignocellulosic BtL transportation fuels, such as, gasoline, diesel and jet fuel can be accomplished through various thermochemical processes and processing routes. The major steps for the production of BtL fuels involve feedstock selection, physical pretreatment, production of bio-oil, upgrading of bio-oil to transportation fuels and recovery of value-added products. The present work is aiming to give a comprehensive review of the current process technologies following these major steps and the current scenarios of biomass to liquid facilities for the production of biofuels. (C) 2018 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd.. All rights reserved.