Chapter 6 - Surface-modified nanomaterial-based catalytic materials for the production of liquid fuels

Abstract

Biomass is organic material available in nature most abundantly and has earned plenty of interest as a sustainable and renewable material for the production of valuable biochemicals and biofuels with several types of surface-modified catalytic systems. Bioderived fuels and chemicals are the alternative renewable source of energy for conventional fossil fuels. These platform chemical feedstocks are either used as a fuel in transportation as well as in chemical industries as a precursor for deriving another chemical. In this chapter, we described different transition metal-based surface-modified nanomaterials for the production of biofuels/chemicals from biomass. Chemical fuels such as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), furfural, alcohols and polyols, biodiesel, and acids obtained from lignocellulosic biomass as a starting material. Along with this, carbon dioxide plays a major role in greenhouse gases, so to diminishing the concentration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere various nanocatalysts with surface engineering are also reported for hydrocarbons and liquid fuel production. Herein we also summarized some advanced nanomaterials for catalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to liquid fuels like methanol, ethanol, propanol, as well as formic acid by considering their accounts in fuel cells and a chemical feedstock.