Microbial Technologies in Advanced Biofuels Production

One consequence of current industrial biofuel sources is an increase in worldwide food costs. This book offers a comprehensive, up-to-date review of options under development for the production of advanced non food-crop biofuels as alternative energy sources.

Concerns over dwindling fossil fuel reserves and impending climate changes have focused attention worldwide on the need to discover alternative, sustainable energy sources and fuels. Biofuels, already produced on a massive industrial scale, are seen as one answer to these problems. However, very real concerns over the effects of biofuel production on food supplies, with some of ht recent increases in worldwide food costs attributable to biofuel production, have lead to the realization that new, non-food substrates for biofuel production must be bought online. This book is an authoritative, comprehensive, up-to-date review of the various options under development for the production of advanced biofuels as alternative energy sources. A general overview and introductory chapters for each section place the field in the context as well as provide essential basic notions for the more general reader. Accomplished, internationally recognized experts carrying out research on individual focus areas contribute specific technical chapters detailing present progress and future prospects.

Biofuels, the larger context.- Hydrogen production: light driven processes; cyanobacteria.- Hydrogen production: light driven processes; green algae.- Hydrogen production : photofermentation.- Hydrogen production : dark processes.- Microbial Electrolysis: Novel Biotechnology for Hydrogen Production from Biomass.- Combined Processes for maximum substrate conversion.- Syntrophic Degradation of Fatty Acids by Methanogenic Communities.- Anaerobic digestion as an effective biofuel production technology.- Advanced Bioethanol Production.- Novel strategies for production of medium and high chain length alcohols.- Microbial Production of Fatty-Acid Based Biofuels.- Biodiesel production by microalgae.- Algae Oil.- The Future of Biofuels, Biofuels of the Future.