Production of Biofuels from Cellulose of Woody Biomass

Today, fossil resources supply approximately 86% of energy and 96% of organic chemicals used in the world [1]. The continuous depletion of petroleum fuel is one of the prime concerns these days. Other concerns associated with the large-scale utilization of fossil fuels are availability, global warming and uneven geographic distribution [2,3]. Also, the global population is expected to increase by approximately 3 billion people by 2050, which substantially increases the need for fuels. One estimate indicated that the world energy consumption would increase by 35% over the next 20 years in order to meet the growing demand of industrialized countries and the rapid development of emerging economies [2]. As the fossil fuels are depleting in the coming years, new technologies should be developed in order to produce fuels from renewable biomass resources [4].