Abstract
Global warming, limited oil supplies, energy security, and economic concerns are among the factors driving the search for alternatives to fossil fuels. Biofuels, including bioethanol, biodiesel, and biohydrogen, can be produced renewably, and as such are considered an essential component of strategies to minimize dependency on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this chapter, we provide a survey of the various systems used for the production of biofuels, including higher plant-derived bioethanol and biodiesel, the use of microorganisms for the production of biofuels, and solardriven hydrogen production. We go on to show how genetic engineering has been used to improve the yields of various biofuels and discuss future perspectives.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Applied Molecular Biotechnology |
| Subtitle of host publication | The Next Generation of Genetic Engineering |
| Editors | Muhammad Sarwar Khan, Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Debmalya Barh |
| Publisher | CRC Press |
| Pages | 569-622 |
| Number of pages | 54 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781498714839 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781498714815 |
| State | Published - Apr 21 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Algae
- Biodiesel
- Bioethanol
- Biohydrogen
- Metabolic engineering
- Plant biomass
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Engineering
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences