Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Fuels and Value-Added Chemicals Using Emerging Technologies and State-of-the-Art Density Functional Theory Simulations Approach

In recent years, the drive toward a sustainable economy has challenged the scientific community to pursue ambitious investigations to convert sustainable feedstocks such as lignocellulose into useful products. These products include biofuels, commodity chemicals, and new bio-based materials including bioplastics, which offer a potential substitution to the dwindling nonrenewable fossil resources. A plethora of lignocellulosic biomass processing technologies have been attempted and effectively documented in literature, which include, but not limited to, biochemical, liquid acid, thermochemical, and catalytic (homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis) transformation processes. This chapter reviews the state-of-the-art research and development of these process technologies. We further highlight the advantages and disadvantages, potential for future applications, challenges related to these technologies, and opportunities to maximize economic and environmental benefits, while minimizing waste and pollution. Special emphasis is placed and discussed on the production of biofuels and commodity chemicals from these process technologies. Besides, the application of molecular modeling in integration with experiments is highlighted in this chapter as a new paradigm for mechanism study and thus could open up new avenues to design and develop catalysts for a plethora of biomass reactions that require high activity and selectivity.