Abstract
Biofuel is one of the best alternatives to petroleum-derived fuels globally especially in the current scenario, where fossil fuels are continuously depleting. Fossil-based fuels cause severe threats to the environment and human health by releasing greenhouse gases on their burning. With the several limitations in currently available technologies and associated higher expenses, producing biofuels on an industrial scale is a time-consuming operation. Moreover, processes adopted for the conversion of various feedstock to the desired product are different depending upon the various techniques and materials utilized. Nanoparticles (NPs) are one of the best solutions to the current challenges on utilization of biomass in terms of their selectivity, energy efficiency, and time management, with reduced cost involvement. Many of these methods have recently been adopted, and several NPs such as metal, magnetic, and metal oxide are now being used in enhancement of biofuel production. The unique properties of NPs, such as their design, stability, greater surface area to volume ratio, catalytic activity, and reusability, make them effective biofuel additives. In addition, nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, and nanosheets have been found to be cost effective as well as stable catalysts for enzyme immobilization, thus improving biofuel synthesis. The current study gives a comprehensive overview of the use of various nanomaterials in biofuel production, as well as the major challenges and future opportunities.
Highlights
It is very well known that the consumption of fossil fuels is increasing rapidly with an increase in population growth rate and urbanization, leading towards the exhaustion of petroleum-derived fuels in the near future
The catalytic activity and selectivity of dispersed metal nanoparticle catalysts in heterogeneous catalysis were improved by using hybrid support made up of metal-organic framework (MOF) crystals and partially reduced graphene oxide (PRGO) nanosheets
The possibility of using biofuel as an alternative and green energy source will be significantly higher in the near future. It is clear from the current review that the incorporation of nanoparticles during biofuel production enhanced this significantly
Summary
It is very well known that the consumption of fossil fuels is increasing rapidly with an increase in population growth rate and urbanization, leading towards the exhaustion of petroleum-derived fuels in the near future. The production of biofuel is being carried out using many plant sources such as vegetables, corn, soybean, sugarcane, palm oil, and Jatropha (used in Africa) as feedstock in almost every continent [3,4]. In countries such as the USA and Brazil, bioethanol is successfully being applied as biodiesel for otto-cycle engines in combination with gasoline [1]. An important non-edible oil plant is Jatropha which is native to Central and South America and is being considered as a reliable source for the production of biodiesel due to its high oil content [6]. The present review addresses the advancement of NPs over biofuel production in terms of their applications and challenges, with future perspectives
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