Nanomaterial-Immobilized Biocatalysts for Biofuel Production from Lignocellulose Biomass

Abstract

AbstractEnzymes are employed in several fields of basic and applied research as biocatalysts in green chemistry, biosensor, nanobioelectronics, biofuel, and pharmaceutical, agricultural, and biotechnological industries. In present scenario, the diminution of fossil fuels gained the attention of researchers for substitute and sustainable renewable energy resources for biofuel production to combat worldwide energy consumption. The enzyme immobilization as biocatalysts for biofuel applications from lignocellulosic biomasses is found to produce highest percentage of bioethanol. The enzyme immobilization is a fundamental tool to reduce the cost and harness their benefits. The stabilization of enzymes using immobilization helps in efficient recovery from the reaction conditions after biocatalysis and hence makes laborious separation steps easy and permits repetitive use of enzymes. Besides this, it offers several other advantages such as stabilization against harsh reaction conditions, thermodynamic and kinetic stability, surface- and volume-confined enzyme environments, ability to design multi-step reaction, and reduced formation of undesired products which makes easy separation of soluble end products than free enzymes. The different methods of enzyme immobilization either involve adsorption or covalent bonding or encapsulation or a combination of different methods. Several types of nanoparticles and nanocomposites are being used for the stabilization of enzymes which retain the enzyme activity even after immobilization. This book chapter will cover the developments in coupled strategies and the deeper knowledge in stabilization of enzymes with special emphasis on the possibilities of nanomaterial coupled immobilization for operational stabilities in biofuel application.KeywordsEnzymesStabilizationEnhanced activityCostApplicationsNanomaterials