Feedstock for Bioethanol Production from a Technological Paradigm Perspective

Abstract

Because of the impending energy crisis and the environmental problems caused by the excessive use of fossil fuels, biofuels produced from renewable energy biomass have been playing a more significant role in the world. This follows from their obvious environmental and economic advantages. Bioethanol, the most widely used transportation biofuel, is typically derived from plant-based feedstock sources such wheat, sugar beet, corn, straw, and wood. However, the main problem with bioethanol production is that despite the range of feedstock, raw material availability varies considerably from season to season, as there is no systematic framework. By combining technological paradigm theory with literature mining, we found that bioethanol feedstock production development has followed a three-stage trajectory, which is in accordance with the traditional technological paradigm – the S-curve. This new curve can be divided into BFDP (bioethanol feedstock development paradigm) competition, BFDP diffusion, and BFDP shift. Each phase has a different generation of feedstock; first-generation bioethanol in BFDP competition, second-generation bioethanol in BFDP diffusion, and third-generation bioethanol in BFDP shift. Further, based on the technological support, literature mining, and a realistic background, the second-generation bioethanol (mainly lignocellulosic biomass) is expected to continue to be a significant future trend in the world. The new BFDP framework presented in this paper may provide scholars with research ideas for the future.