Bioethanol
bookPart
Production of bioethanol from cellulosic biomass plays an important role to support energy policies. To produce cellulosic ethanol via fermentation it is required to first break the lignocellulosic complex. Numerous technologies for such pretreatment are under development or in a pilot plant stage. Saccharomyces cerevisiae or other microorganisms are available that can convert C5 and C6 sugars into ethanol. The technology required for cellulosic ethanol production is now shifting from the pilot plant stage to full scale plants. Biological conversion of syngas/waste gas components appears also to be a promising alternative to produce ethanol. Although the research in the field of bioconversion of syngas (CO) to ethanol was started in the 1990s, still significant efforts are needed for the scaling-up and successful commercialization of the process. Waste gas conversion to ethanol is quite more recent. Efficient bioreactors that provide a high gas-liquid mass transfer for sparingly soluble substrates such as CO need to be developed for a high ethanol production. Although different opinions exist, a shift from gasoline to corn ethanol reduces GHG emissions (per MJ fuel) about 23% and from gasoline to cellulosic ethanol about 70%. A shift from gasoline to cellulosic ethanol also decreases the emission of hydrocarbon ozone precursors, but increases CO, SO2 and NOx emissions. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TNO Identifier
471388
ISBN
9781119943310
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons
Source title
Air Pollution Prevention and Control: Bioreactors and Bioenergy
Editor(s)
Kennes, C.
Veiga, M.C.
Veiga, M.C.
Place of publication
Chichester
Pages
431-464
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