desired success at commercial operations. Genetic/metabolic engineering
interventions could provide significant breakthrough in improvement of thermophilic ethanologens. This chapter focuses on the recent biotechnological advances
that lead to the production of lignocellulosic-based aviation biofuel (bioethanol
and biohydrogen) with special emphasis on thermophiles and their enzymes.
3.1
Introduction
Fossil fuels that have been highly praised globally for significant role into day’s
societal growth and development are nonrenewable as well as nonsustainable energy
source. Furthermore, exploitation of these fossil fuels found to significantly contribute toward enhanced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions like CO 2 , etc., into the
atmosphere as well as climate alteration. Consequently, the sustenance of environment, economy as well as the pace of growth and development in contemporary
world can merely be attained through switching to the renewable energy
resources (Chandel et al. 2020). All these concerns act as driving force for massive
motivation in the direction of biofuel research owing to the shrinking of fossil fuel
resources for huge commands of transportation together with enhanced discharge of
GHGs. Also, governments of various countries like the USA, Italy, China, Germany,
and India have invested substantial funds in the direction of biofuel research and also
announced subsidies and incentives to vendors that manufacture biofuels (Mallick et
al. 2016; Sharma and Singh 2016; Bhatia et al. 2018; Chandel et al. 2018).
Considering aforementioned facts, biomass-based transport fuels have received
immense interest in the present global scenario as green renewable energy over fossil
fuels with intention to expand plans to improve energy self-reliance, decrease
importation of prices, as well as reinforce domestic agricultural progress. These
biofuels not only reduce automobile discharges along with enhanced sustainability
but also have been helpful in a shift to low-carbon fuels, which would lead to
sustainability in transport segment. Exploitation of biofuels leads to substantial
decrease of oil consumption as well as CO 2 emissions. Many industries like aviation,
marine transport, and heavy freight direct themselves toward the exploitation of
biofuels as low-carbon option to fossil fuel. Remarkably, among these industries,
aviation industry alone will be accountable for rise in overall GHG releases in the
range of 400–600% between 2010 and 2050. Thus, cost-effective mass production
along with eco-friendly approach is all what aviation industry is looking for when it
focuses on developing fuels (Lee and Mo 2011). As a result of this environmental
threat, the aviation industry took accountability to diminish CO 2 emission and with
this purpose, they flew their first profitable test flight by exploiting biofuels in 2008
(Araujo et al. 2017). Biofuel turns out to be a part of half of the jet fuel mixture of
nearly twenty-two airlines in the mid of 2015, with the backing of which these
airlines had completed >2000 passenger flights. In recent years, around 191
countries have directed themselves for the strategic control of aviation pollution
through signing a treaty, thus developing a vast potential/scope toward nonstop
66
L. Bhatia et al.
interventions could provide significant breakthrough in improvement of thermophilic ethanologens. This chapter focuses on the recent biotechnological advances
that lead to the production of lignocellulosic-based aviation biofuel (bioethanol
and biohydrogen) with special emphasis on thermophiles and their enzymes.
3.1
Introduction
Fossil fuels that have been highly praised globally for significant role into day’s
societal growth and development are nonrenewable as well as nonsustainable energy
source. Furthermore, exploitation of these fossil fuels found to significantly contribute toward enhanced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions like CO 2 , etc., into the
atmosphere as well as climate alteration. Consequently, the sustenance of environment, economy as well as the pace of growth and development in contemporary
world can merely be attained through switching to the renewable energy
resources (Chandel et al. 2020). All these concerns act as driving force for massive
motivation in the direction of biofuel research owing to the shrinking of fossil fuel
resources for huge commands of transportation together with enhanced discharge of
GHGs. Also, governments of various countries like the USA, Italy, China, Germany,
and India have invested substantial funds in the direction of biofuel research and also
announced subsidies and incentives to vendors that manufacture biofuels (Mallick et
al. 2016; Sharma and Singh 2016; Bhatia et al. 2018; Chandel et al. 2018).
Considering aforementioned facts, biomass-based transport fuels have received
immense interest in the present global scenario as green renewable energy over fossil
fuels with intention to expand plans to improve energy self-reliance, decrease
importation of prices, as well as reinforce domestic agricultural progress. These
biofuels not only reduce automobile discharges along with enhanced sustainability
but also have been helpful in a shift to low-carbon fuels, which would lead to
sustainability in transport segment. Exploitation of biofuels leads to substantial
decrease of oil consumption as well as CO 2 emissions. Many industries like aviation,
marine transport, and heavy freight direct themselves toward the exploitation of
biofuels as low-carbon option to fossil fuel. Remarkably, among these industries,
aviation industry alone will be accountable for rise in overall GHG releases in the
range of 400–600% between 2010 and 2050. Thus, cost-effective mass production
along with eco-friendly approach is all what aviation industry is looking for when it
focuses on developing fuels (Lee and Mo 2011). As a result of this environmental
threat, the aviation industry took accountability to diminish CO 2 emission and with
this purpose, they flew their first profitable test flight by exploiting biofuels in 2008
(Araujo et al. 2017). Biofuel turns out to be a part of half of the jet fuel mixture of
nearly twenty-two airlines in the mid of 2015, with the backing of which these
airlines had completed >2000 passenger flights. In recent years, around 191
countries have directed themselves for the strategic control of aviation pollution
through signing a treaty, thus developing a vast potential/scope toward nonstop
66
L. Bhatia et al.