Advances and Future Prospective of Plant-Based Biofuels

The rising energy demand, combined with growing concern about environmental health, has resulted in a significant increase in global biofuel production. Plant-based biofuels are the most abundant renewable fuel source, capable of producing ethanol, butanol, and long-chain hydrocarbons from starch, cellulose, hemicellulose, and oils. First-generation biofuels are made from agricultural food crops such as corn, wheat, sugar beets, and oil seeds. Biodiesel and bioethanol are the primary first-generation biofuel products. Triglyceride-enriched biomass is trans-etherified to produce biodiesel. Biomass is fermented to produce alcohol. To reduce agricultural land utilization, lignocellulosic biomass has been identified as the feedstock for second-generation biofuels. However, the cost of plant-based biofuel is expensive, compared to oil prices. In addition to other approaches, like boosting plant polysaccharide content and overall biomass, genetically engineering plants to produce cellulases and hemicellulases and lessen the pretreatment procedures through lignin modification are promising ways to overcome the cost issue.