460
warming [1]. Renewable energy sources as an alternative to contemporary fossil
fuels are the most encouraging solutions for moving towards a more sustainable
future for humankind. The biomass valorization, which is an abundant non-fossil
carbon source, has significantly attracted a lot of scrutinies as it possesses the ability
to provide vast range of value-added chemicals and high-energy-density fuels.
Right after crude oil, coal and natural gas, biomass is the largest source of energy
which has been used to produce heat and power. Researchers are expecting that
within two decades, worldwide demand of petroleum will increase by over 30% [2].
So the centre of interest is shifted to find an alternative, multiple and more flexible,
less greenhouse-emitting energy backbone for a long-term solution not only to fulfil
the demand but also to substitute the petroleum feedstock. In this context hydrogen,
solar and biomass energy are the promising sources to replace petroleum reserves.
The future success of these newborn technologies fully depends on the understanding of process implementation and chemical mechanism at the fundamental level.
Among similar preferred sources, biomass is an abundant and the cost-effective
carbon source which has the potential to produce liquid hydrocarbon fuel and provides huge amount of renewable feedstock without production of higher amount of
greenhouse gases through subsequent regrowth of biomass [3]. They can be easily
processed and incorporated without disturbing the existing infrastructure to the
transportation and the internal combustion engine [4]. Despite all other complexity,
researchers are trying to produce biodiesel and chemicals from biomass as it has
several advantages including engine performance, price, non-toxicity, biodegradability and biocompatibility. Hence competent valorization of biomass is not only
helpful to produce advantageous fuels and chemicals but also helps to reduce net
emission of CO 2 . Therefore, the share of biofuel is predicted to reach at about 9% in
the transport sector by 2030 [4]. The application of naturally abundant biomass
feedstock for the production of chemicals can boost the foundation of green chemistry within the context of sustainability. Renewable energy origins like solar, geothermal, wind and biomass are acknowledged to be feasible surrogates to traditional
oil [5]. However, the energy sourced from biomass is recognized to have more sustainability specially for the transportation category. Biofuel is the common name of
fuel generated from biomass. Among the various biofuels, biodiesel is the subject of
the most researches, and it is still in momentum despite all the rigorous developments. The immense interest of various researches, industrialists and governments
throughout the world may be attributed to the fundamental advantages of it. The
main reasons are its biodegradability, non-toxicity, renewability, inbuilt oxygen
content, higher cetane number, higher combustion with regulated emissions, full
carbon cycle and raw material availability [6, 7]. Biodiesel is the mono alkyl ester
of fatty acids retrieved from animal fat or vegetable oil by the transesterification or
esterification with alcohol in the existence of a catalyst (Scheme 1).
From the forecast of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the maximal oil
production of the world will be achieved between 1996 and 2035. According to
some experts, current oil may totally diminish by 2050. According to the European
K. Bhaduri et al.
warming [1]. Renewable energy sources as an alternative to contemporary fossil
fuels are the most encouraging solutions for moving towards a more sustainable
future for humankind. The biomass valorization, which is an abundant non-fossil
carbon source, has significantly attracted a lot of scrutinies as it possesses the ability
to provide vast range of value-added chemicals and high-energy-density fuels.
Right after crude oil, coal and natural gas, biomass is the largest source of energy
which has been used to produce heat and power. Researchers are expecting that
within two decades, worldwide demand of petroleum will increase by over 30% [2].
So the centre of interest is shifted to find an alternative, multiple and more flexible,
less greenhouse-emitting energy backbone for a long-term solution not only to fulfil
the demand but also to substitute the petroleum feedstock. In this context hydrogen,
solar and biomass energy are the promising sources to replace petroleum reserves.
The future success of these newborn technologies fully depends on the understanding of process implementation and chemical mechanism at the fundamental level.
Among similar preferred sources, biomass is an abundant and the cost-effective
carbon source which has the potential to produce liquid hydrocarbon fuel and provides huge amount of renewable feedstock without production of higher amount of
greenhouse gases through subsequent regrowth of biomass [3]. They can be easily
processed and incorporated without disturbing the existing infrastructure to the
transportation and the internal combustion engine [4]. Despite all other complexity,
researchers are trying to produce biodiesel and chemicals from biomass as it has
several advantages including engine performance, price, non-toxicity, biodegradability and biocompatibility. Hence competent valorization of biomass is not only
helpful to produce advantageous fuels and chemicals but also helps to reduce net
emission of CO 2 . Therefore, the share of biofuel is predicted to reach at about 9% in
the transport sector by 2030 [4]. The application of naturally abundant biomass
feedstock for the production of chemicals can boost the foundation of green chemistry within the context of sustainability. Renewable energy origins like solar, geothermal, wind and biomass are acknowledged to be feasible surrogates to traditional
oil [5]. However, the energy sourced from biomass is recognized to have more sustainability specially for the transportation category. Biofuel is the common name of
fuel generated from biomass. Among the various biofuels, biodiesel is the subject of
the most researches, and it is still in momentum despite all the rigorous developments. The immense interest of various researches, industrialists and governments
throughout the world may be attributed to the fundamental advantages of it. The
main reasons are its biodegradability, non-toxicity, renewability, inbuilt oxygen
content, higher cetane number, higher combustion with regulated emissions, full
carbon cycle and raw material availability [6, 7]. Biodiesel is the mono alkyl ester
of fatty acids retrieved from animal fat or vegetable oil by the transesterification or
esterification with alcohol in the existence of a catalyst (Scheme 1).
From the forecast of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the maximal oil
production of the world will be achieved between 1996 and 2035. According to
some experts, current oil may totally diminish by 2050. According to the European
K. Bhaduri et al.