Recent Advances in Bioconversion of Lignocellulose to Biofuels and Value Added Chemicals within the Biorefinery Concept

Edivaldo Ximenes Ferreira Filho is Professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Cell Biology of the University of Brasília (Brazil). He conducts research in the fields of biochemistry and biotechnology, investigating the production, purification, characterization and biotechnology applications of lignocellulose-degrading enzymes from filamentous fungi. Leonora Moreira is currently working as Post-doctorate fellow in Department of Cellular Biology, University of Brasilia, Brazil. She works with biochemistry and biotechnology, specifically with enzyme production, purification, characterization and enzyme technologies Eduardo de Aquino Ximenes is a Senior Scientist with a Graduate faculty special appointment in the Agricultural Biological Engineering Department at Purdue University. He conducts research in the Laboratory of Renewable Resources and Enginnering (LORRE) for the development of low carbon footprint biofuels and bioproducts using enzyme based methods, and novel approaches for accelerated sample preparation aiming human and plant pathogenic microorganisms fast detection. Dr. Cristiane Sanchez Farina is a Researcher at EMBRAPA – the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply). She has been working on research projects in the bioenergy area, focusing on the development of bioprocesses for enzyme production for application in the biofuels sector. She also works in collaboration with the Graduate Programs of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology of the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar). Her interests lie in the investigation of novel chemical and biochemical technologies for biomass conversion and nanocellulose production within the biorefinery concept.

• 1. An introduction to biorefinery2. Microorganisms producing enzymes: strategies to improve the enzymatic yield of biomass deconstruction3. Enzymatic path to bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass: Consolidated and new strategies to enhance the enzymatic activity on lignocellulosic biomass4. Enzyme interactions on lignocellulosic biomass structure5. Enzymes and Biomass Pretreatment6. Chemical and thermochemical methods on lignocellulosic biorefinery7. Lignin Valorization8. Biomass co-products utilization9. Economic and social aspects of Biorefineries10. Virtual Biorefineries11. Life cycle assessment of lignocellulosic biorefinery12. Perspectives