Recent Advancements in the Life Cycle Analysis of Lignocellulosic Biomass

Abstract

In context of progressive depletion of fossil fuel assets along with an accelerating rise in global energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy production from bio-renewable and sustainable sources has gained great significance. Lignocellulosic biomass, abundantly available and inexpensive feedstock, provides incredible potential as raw materials for the large-scale production of biofuels. It is meaningful to estimate the environmental footprints from cradle-to-grave to determine the optimal biofuel strategies. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an integrative approach incorporating the economic and ecological impacts in a production chain and has been widely adopted to a large number of renewable energy production systems. It provides a comprehensive insight into the interactions between the environment and anthropogenic activities and thus implementing successful strategic planning. Life cycle or cradle to grave assessment approach of lignocellulosic biomass briquettes holds significant importance to evaluate the influence of bioproduction processes. This review briefly presents the significance of lignocellulosic biomass as a potentially attractive feedstock for biofuels production. Particular emphasis has been devoted to analyze the entire life cycle analysis of bioprocess, including different pre-treatment processes employed in biofuels production, that is necessary to achieve its practical implementation.