Different Pretreatment Methods of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Use in Biofuel Production

Abstract

Lignocellulosic biomasses are carbon neutral and abundantly available renewable bioresource material available on earth. However, the main problem that hinders its frequent use is the tight bonding within its constituents that include cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The selection of pretreatment process depends exclusively on the application. Various pretreatment processes are primarily developed and utilized in effective separation of these interlinked components to take maximum benefit from the constitutes of the lignocellulosic biomasses especially for the production of biofuel. The major pretreatment methods include physical, chemical, thermophysical, thermochemical, and biological approaches. Various aspects of these different pretreatment approaches are discussed in this chapter.