eChapter Name: Lignocellulosic Biomass for Biohydrogen Production
9789372196429
eBook Name: BIOFUELS PRODUCTION USING SUSTAINABLE BIOPROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES
1. Introduction
Increasing population, industrialization, and change in the human lifestyle have become the reason for the exhaustion of non-renewable energy sources, our prime energy resource. The combustion of non-renewable energy sources produces toxic pollutants such as CO2, CO, NOx, SO2, etc., and greenhouse gases CH4, CO2, and N2O which significantly contribute to global warming, environmental pollution, and health hazards. In the current scenario, we need a green energy source that does not generate toxic gases and is eco-friendly. Hence, the research is triggered towards finding alternative solutions to overcome the energy crisis. The various green energy sources are solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, hydropower, biomass, hydrogen fuel cells, etc. The major drawback of these sources is the geographical location to install the plants. In the present context, identifying an alternate energy source that is sustainable, renewable, and eco-friendly to overcome the ever-growing energy demands is crucial. Hence, bioenergy is an eco-friendly, economical, and sustainable source of energy that gratifies the contemporary development environment by utilizing the potential of renewable organic energy resources (Yin and Wang et al., 2022).
2. Biomass
The sources of biomass are agro wastes, wood wastes, aquatic wastes, municipal wastes, wet wastes, industrial wastes, forest residues, etc. Figure 1.1 illustrates various sources of biomass, such as agricultural leftovers, forestry waste, energy crops, and organic municipal waste, showcasing their potential as renewable energy resources. Biomass is the product of photosynthesis and is also a versatile renewable energy source that can be utilized for sustainable biohydrogen generation. Biomass absorbs atmospheric CO2 during its growth, leading to relatively a lower net carbon impact as compared to fossil fuels. Renewable organic resources (biomass) can be in a solid, liquid, or gaseous phase. Energy generation through the incineration of biomass has been a longstanding practice. Since the energy potential of the biomass is not extracted effectively, it leads to environmental pollution (Kumar and Fiori et al., 2024). Biomass can be converted to liquid and gaseous fuels called biofuels with significant calorific value through thermochemical and biochemical processes (Gautam et al., 2020). Biofuels are superior to fossil fuels in the context of sustainability and reduced emissions of greenhouse gases. A variety of biofuels and chemicals such as bio-ethanol, biodiesel, acetic acid, formaldehyde, etc., can be manufactured from biomass (Gautam et al., 2020). Globally, research is advancing towards replacing non-renewable fuels with biofuels. However, the transition to biofuel technique presents a challenge due to the huge space requirement for biomass. Table 1.1 illustrates the categories of biomass employed for hydrogen generation, categorized into lignocellulosic materials, algal biomass, organic waste, and energy crops.