The Production of Bioethanol from Lignocellulosic Biomass: Pretreatment Methods, Fermentation, and Downstream Processing

Sunčica Beluhan, Katarina Mihajlovski (), Božidar Šantek () and Mirela Ivančić Šantek ()
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Sunčica Beluhan: Department of Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Katarina Mihajlovski: Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Božidar Šantek: Department of Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Mirela Ivančić Šantek: Department of Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-38

Abstract: Bioethanol is the most widely used alternative transportation fuel to petrol. Bioethanol is considered a clean, renewable, and environmentally friendly fuel that can contribute to climate change mitigation, decreased environmental pollution, and enhanced energy security. Commercial bioethanol production is based on traditional agricultural crops such as corn, sugarcane, and sugarbeet, primarily used as food and feed. In order to meet the growing demand for this fuel and decrease competition in the food and biofuel sectors for the same feedstock, other raw materials and process technologies have been intensively studied. Lignocellulosic biomass is one of the most abundant renewable resources, with it being rich in compounds that could be processed into energy, transportation fuels, various chemical compounds, and diverse materials. Bioethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass has received substantial attention in recent decades. This review gives an overview of bioethanol production steps from lignocellulosic biomass and challenges in the production process. The following aspects of bioethanol production are covered here, including pretreatment methods, process strategies, strain development, ethanol isolation and purification, and technical hurdles.

Keywords: biofuels; bioethanol; lignocellulosic biomass; bio-refinery; pretreatment; bioethanol recovery; downstream processing; bioethanol dehydration; advanced hybrid process (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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