Title: Bioenergy Conversion and Materials

Biography:

Frederik C. Botha, Institute of Plant Biotechnology, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

Abstract

From ancient times, plant biomass has been combusted to produce heat. Depending on the bioenergy feedstock and the energy processing platform, there are three major biofuel products: bioethanol (1G and 2G), biogas (1G and 2G), and biodiesel (3G). The basic steps involved in operating a biomass based biorefinery are similar regardless of the feedstock. Biomass first needs transformation, which involves separation or extraction of plant components by grinding, followed by fractionation or cracking by biological or physical–chemical technologies. The key steps in bioconversion of lignocellulose to fuels are size reduction, pretreatment, hydrolysis, and fuel production. Life cycle analysis or assessment (LCA) is an internationally recognized methodology for evaluating the global environmental performance of a product, process, or pathway along its partial or whole life cycle, considering the effects generated from “cradle‐to‐grave”.