6.1
Introduction
The energy products obtained from underground mines/reserves had shown significant contributions in the industrial era and occupied first place in terms of higher
energy value as compared to other energy resources. Transportation, power generation, industry, and agriculture sectors are the primary consumers of fossil fuels.
Furthermore, liquid and solid fuels derived from fossil fuels play a vital role in the
transport sector. The fossil fuel reserves are shrinking rapidly due to an increase in
demand worldwide, and the crude oil reserves will be depleted in the next 30 years
(Bajpai 2020). Looking from another side, about 15–22% of the world’s greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions come from fossil fuel-run vehicles, and it contributes one-fifth
of global CO 2 emissions (Soimakallio and Koponen 2011; Chin et al. 2013; Kirtay
2011). The alarming rate of usage of these fuels in the present scenario showed a
negative impact on the environment, which results in air pollution, climate change,
and global warming. Renewable energy sources are one of the potential candidates
to resolve the above-said problems. Among the renewable energy sources, biomass
was used by mankind from the ancient period and especially for thermal energy and
other purposes.
Biomass means biodegradable organic matter, which is produced by plants/
animals/microorganisms. The present predominant usage of lignocellulosic biomass
feedstocks is burning or treated as waste and less exposure for tapping other energy
values. The biomass is one of the potential feedstocks to produce multiple
bio-products via different biomass conversion technologies. Among the different
biomass feedstocks, agro-residues have come under the lignocellulosic feedstocks
category. Recent trends show that the crop production area increased with food
demand for the growing population and results in increased crop residue generation.
The available agriculture wastes subjected to poor utilization and management
practices such as decomposing field itself or in situ burning results in significant
environmental impacts (Tripathi et al. 2019). However, these residues have the
potential to produce biofuels, biochemicals and bioenergy. For effective utilization
and minimal waste generation, multiple bio-products production from agro-residues
are proposed.
Biorefinery helps to generate a variety of products from these residues. There are
several reasons for the agro-residues to be used as inputs in the biorefineries, such as
their low price, massive production, and potential resource for multi-bioproducts.
The goal in a biorefinery is to isolate all the added value from the biomass feedstock,
resulting in little or no wastes generation. By producing multiple value-added
products, a biorefinery offers huge potential. Biofuels, bioenergy, and biochemicals
are commonly known bio-products from biomass materials and the biorefinery
concept targets two or more of these bio-products through combined
bio/thermochemical conversion processes. Biofuels are defined as fuel derived
from the biomass substrates, which may be in the form of liquid, gaseous, or solid.
These biofuels can be used as alternate to petro-fuels.
The constituents of agro-residues are converted into different platform chemicals
via suitable technologies. For example, the cellulose can produce different chemicals
102
D. Ramesh et al.
Introduction
The energy products obtained from underground mines/reserves had shown significant contributions in the industrial era and occupied first place in terms of higher
energy value as compared to other energy resources. Transportation, power generation, industry, and agriculture sectors are the primary consumers of fossil fuels.
Furthermore, liquid and solid fuels derived from fossil fuels play a vital role in the
transport sector. The fossil fuel reserves are shrinking rapidly due to an increase in
demand worldwide, and the crude oil reserves will be depleted in the next 30 years
(Bajpai 2020). Looking from another side, about 15–22% of the world’s greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions come from fossil fuel-run vehicles, and it contributes one-fifth
of global CO 2 emissions (Soimakallio and Koponen 2011; Chin et al. 2013; Kirtay
2011). The alarming rate of usage of these fuels in the present scenario showed a
negative impact on the environment, which results in air pollution, climate change,
and global warming. Renewable energy sources are one of the potential candidates
to resolve the above-said problems. Among the renewable energy sources, biomass
was used by mankind from the ancient period and especially for thermal energy and
other purposes.
Biomass means biodegradable organic matter, which is produced by plants/
animals/microorganisms. The present predominant usage of lignocellulosic biomass
feedstocks is burning or treated as waste and less exposure for tapping other energy
values. The biomass is one of the potential feedstocks to produce multiple
bio-products via different biomass conversion technologies. Among the different
biomass feedstocks, agro-residues have come under the lignocellulosic feedstocks
category. Recent trends show that the crop production area increased with food
demand for the growing population and results in increased crop residue generation.
The available agriculture wastes subjected to poor utilization and management
practices such as decomposing field itself or in situ burning results in significant
environmental impacts (Tripathi et al. 2019). However, these residues have the
potential to produce biofuels, biochemicals and bioenergy. For effective utilization
and minimal waste generation, multiple bio-products production from agro-residues
are proposed.
Biorefinery helps to generate a variety of products from these residues. There are
several reasons for the agro-residues to be used as inputs in the biorefineries, such as
their low price, massive production, and potential resource for multi-bioproducts.
The goal in a biorefinery is to isolate all the added value from the biomass feedstock,
resulting in little or no wastes generation. By producing multiple value-added
products, a biorefinery offers huge potential. Biofuels, bioenergy, and biochemicals
are commonly known bio-products from biomass materials and the biorefinery
concept targets two or more of these bio-products through combined
bio/thermochemical conversion processes. Biofuels are defined as fuel derived
from the biomass substrates, which may be in the form of liquid, gaseous, or solid.
These biofuels can be used as alternate to petro-fuels.
The constituents of agro-residues are converted into different platform chemicals
via suitable technologies. For example, the cellulose can produce different chemicals
102
D. Ramesh et al.