The resistance posed to the breakdown of plant-derived, complex cellulosic feedstock into fermentable sugars for the production of renewable bio-based products such as biofuels is labeled as biomass recalcitrance.
Industrial Biotechnology Journal
This hurdle to biofuels production can be overcome via enhanced biomass characterization techniques. The Mary Ann Liebert published “Industrial Biotechnology” journal presents a compilation of articles elucidating advanced analyzing techniques adopted by leading research institutes to study the structure, chemistry and interaction of biomass materials. The future commercialization capabilities of plant-derived bioproducts and biofuels rely on the conception of effective methods to efficiently breakdown lignocellulosic biomass which then leads to release of carbohydrates that can be transformed into bioproducts. In alignment with this necessity, Dr. Brian Davison, Guest Editor and member of Industrial Biotechnology’s Editorial Board brought leading researchers together to share details of their research on the subject.
The topic of focus spans two reviews in the specials section of the journal. The first review is titled “Biomass Characterization: Recent Progress in Understanding Biomass Recalcitrance” and is authored by Marcus Foston and Arthur Ragauskas from the BioEnergy Science Center, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Institute of Paper Science and Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. The second is titled “Neutron Technologies for Bioenergy Research” authored by Paul Langan and colleagues from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Tennessee. The journal also includes short communication articles elaborating new techniques of biomass characterization and features enhancements to Simon’s stain method, changes to atomic force microscopy, strategies with premise in accessibility of biomass to polysaccharide changes, glycomics, and enzymes in plant walls and an improved technique to test mechanical stress.
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.