Application of waste biomass for the production of biofuels and catalysts: a review

Abstract Sustainable development is imperative, and the worldwide energy production must focus on the transition from petroleum derivatives to biomass-based biofuels and bioproducts to achieve a bio-based economy. The global interest in the processing of waste biomass to obtain bio-based products is continuously increasing. However, biorefineries have not yet been consolidated. The effective conversion of biomass components for the generation of value-added biochemicals and biofuels is a determining factor for the economic success of biorefineries. Therefore, exhaustive research has been performed to consolidate the biorefinery industry. This review summarizes the current advances in liquid biofuel production and solid catalysts prepared from waste biomass, as well as their advantages, drawbacks, and statistical data. It offers an extensive perspective, covering conventional methods and cutting-edge techniques such as biochemical and thermochemical biomass conversion technologies (e.g., hydrolysis, fermentation, pyrolysis, and gasification) to produce bioalcohols, biodiesel, renewable diesel, bio-jet, and bio-oil. In addition, the preparation of heterogeneous catalysts using residual biomass and different synthesis routes and their role in biofuel production were analyzed. This review contributes to the analysis of the importance of identifying and valorizing a wide spectrum of raw materials (i.e., urban, forestry, industrial, and agricultural) that have the potential to be used as catalyst precursors and biofuel feedstock. Finally, a techno-economic analysis, the main challenges, and the future scope of the diverse methods used to prepare biofuels and catalysts are discussed. This review examines numerous aspects from biomass to catalysts, thus providing relevant information for researchers, students, policymakers, and industry experts. Graphical abstract