Bioenergy Research: An Overview on Technological Developments and Bioresources

Bioenergy is renewable energy, made through biochemical and chemical approaches, from raw materials that can be used for heat, electricity, or as liquid biofuels for transport. Bioenergy (including biofuels) and related by-/coproducts can be produced entirely from wastes such as lignocellulosic residues from forestry, agricultural, food and municipal solid wastes. In addition, bioenergy raw materials can include purpose-grown crops, virgin lignocellulosic biomass and oleaginous biomass, including algae. Renewable energy technologies, based on biological and/or chemical approaches, represent an important and rapidly growing technology sector and offer the promise for cleaner technology to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and to produce energy, commodity products and biochemicals from biomass in a sustainable manner. Biomass resources are abundant and relatively inexpensive. However, the process of growing crops and processing plants into bioenergy consumes a lot of energy and real barriers and pitfalls exist. Therefore, the factors that require consideration for sustainable and economic production are significant. For this reason much research is currently under way to develop and screen the most suitable and economically viable technological platforms as well as efficient and sustainable feedstocks to produce biofuels. This review documents current strategies and technological developments in recent biofuel research, focuses on the suitability of potential feedstocks for production of bioenergy, and outlines the main technical and socioeconomic challenges to success.