Producing Fuels and Fine Chemicals from Biomass Using Nanomaterials

Scarcity of resources and increasing population and energy demands are important issues of the twenty-first century. A multidisciplinary approach is needed to produce suitable alternatives―such as renewable resources―for a more sustainable future. One of the most promising and widely available renewable feedstocks is biomass, which has significant potential for conversion to materials, fuels, and chemicals. In addition, nanomaterials can be designed for a range of applications including energy storage, fuel production, and nanocatalysis. Designing nanomaterials for the valorization of biomass and waste feedstocks is a major step in advancing the application of nanomaterials and helping to move us toward the goal of a sustainable economy.

Producing Fuels and Fine Chemicals from Biomass Using Nanomaterials offers a wide-ranging approach to the development of innovative nanomaterials for biomass conversion and the production of energy and high-added-value chemicals, including biochemicals, biomaterials, and biofuels. The book is organized into three parts according to nanomaterial applications: Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion, Biofuels from Biomass Valorization Using Nanomaterials, and Production of High-Added-Value Chemicals from Biomass Using Nanomaterials.

Providing a multidisciplinary perspective, this book covers the most important aspects of topics such as solar energy storage, design of carbonaceous nanomaterials as heterogeneous catalysts for producing biofuels, catalytic reforming of biogas into syngas using a range of nanoparticles, and biofuels production from waste oils and fats. It also describes the design and development of biocatalytic, solid acid, photocatalytic, and nanostructured materials for the conversion of various biomass feedstocks to valuable chemicals as intermediates to end products, such as biopolymers, bioplastics, biofuels, agrochemicals, and pharmaceutical products.

Rafael Luque, Ph.D., has significant experience in biomass and waste valorization practices to materials, fuels, and chemicals over the past ten years. He has published more than 180 research articles, filed three patent applications, and edited five books. Rafael is also a member of the editorial advisory board of several journals including Chemical Society Reviews, Catalysis Communications, Current Organic Synthesis, Current Green Chemistry, Journal of Technology Innovations in Renewable Energy, and Sustainable Chemical Processes. He co-founded the spinoff companies Starbon® Technologies, York, UK (2011), and Green Applied Solutions S.L., Cordoba, Spain (2012).

Alina Mariana Balu, Ph.D., received her PhD in 2012 from Universidad de Cordoba, Spain. Her work focuses on alternative and greener methodologies in chemistry, including novel technologies for materials preparation, the production of biofuels, and photocatalysis―a greener alternative for the production of chemicals and energy. Balu has coauthored 35 scientific papers and presented at more than 30 international conferences. She was recently awarded a Marie Currie Intra-European Fellowship (2013).