Sustainable production of advanced biofuel and platform chemicals from woody biomass

Energy security and environment pollution are two major global concerns worldwide. Bioenergy and biofuels have the capability to combat these issues; however, food security and capacity limitations are major limitations of using first-generation biofuels, which utilize food crops containing sugars and starchy materials. Inexpensive and nonedible lignocellulosic wood materials may be alternatives for the generation of biofuels. The value-added biomaterials produced from woody biomass possess tremendous applications in food, bakery, pharmaceutical, textiles, and medical sectors. Moreover, lignocellulosic woody biomass is a promising feedstock for the production of biofuels and value-added products due to its abundance in huge amounts in developing countries like India. However, this biomass cannot be utilized directly as a feedstock due to its chemical complexity, and hence, it is recommended to pass it through a suitable pretreatment for easy extraction of fermentable sugars. Pretreatment and hydrolysis are two crucial steps, which help in the utilization of woody biomass for the synthesis of industrially important primary and secondary metabolites, which control the overall economy of the process. A low-cost pretreatment and hydrolysis steps would help to overcome economic and technical challenges faced by bioethanol refineries. This chapter describes the biofuel production and synthesis of value-added products like sugar alcohols, organic acids, industrial enzymes, and prebiotics using softwood and hardwood.