Fundamentals of lignocellulosic biomass

Liquid biofuel is a promising alternative to petroleum-based fossil fuel. Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) is considered as a potential source of biofuel since it is not food competitive always. Moreover, it has a wide range of sources, such as agriculture residues, forest residues, grass, and energy crops. Though the resources are abundant and readily available all around the world, its contribution in energy sector is not significant. It may be due to the lacking of economically viable and industrially applicable technology. To design and develop sustainable technology, it is urgent to understand the composition, characters, and their refinery process. Therefore this chapter describes the fundamental structure, chemistry, and biorefinery of LCB.