Abstract
This review covers the recent progress in the design and application of microbial biofuels, assessing the advancement of genetic engineering undertakings and their marketability, and lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment issues. Municipal solid waste (MSW) is a promising sustainable biofuel feedstock due to its high content of lignocellulosic fiber. In this review, we compared the production of fatty alcohols, alkanes, and n-butanol from residual biogenic waste and the environmental/economic parameters to that of conventional biofuels. New synthetic biology tools can be used to engineer fermentation pathways within micro-organisms to produce long-chain alcohols, isoprenoids, long-chain fatty acids, and esters, along with alkanes, as substitutes to petroleum-derived fuels. Biotechnological advances have struggled to address problems with bioethanol, such as lower energy density compared to gasoline and high corrosive and hygroscopic qualities that restrict its application in present infrastructure. Biofuels derived from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) may have less environmental impacts compared to traditional fuel production, with the added benefit of lower production costs. Unfortunately, current advanced biofuel production suffers low production rates, which hinders commercial scaling-up efforts. Microbial-produced biofuels can address low productivity while increasing the spectrum of produced bioenergy molecules.
Highlights
Transportation fuel is responsible for a considerable amount of global greenhouse gas emissions
One such process based on Fischer–Tropsch conversion produces advanced liquid aviation and diesel fuels known as synthetic paraffinic kerosenes (SPKs) from biomass [4,5]
Chemical techniques have shown to be highly efficient in expanding the available surface area of lignocellulosic biomass, as well as providing partial-to-complete delignification
Summary
Transportation fuel is responsible for a considerable amount of global greenhouse gas emissions. Bioethanol-blended fuels have adverse properties due to their lower energy content and being hygroscopic in nature, limiting its use in transportation [2]. It is miscible in water and corrosive. The drawbacks of first-generation renewable fuels led to the development of second-generation biofuels [3]. One such process based on Fischer–Tropsch conversion produces advanced liquid aviation and diesel fuels known as synthetic paraffinic kerosenes (SPKs) from biomass [4,5]. The large-scale use of second-generation biofuels is restricted by the availability of feedstock [6]
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