Charles E. Wyman - Böcker

Plant biomass is attracting increasing attention as a sustainable resource for large-scale production of renewable fuels and chemicals. However, in order to successfully compete with petroleum, it is vital that biomass conversion processes are designed to minimize costs and maximize yields. Advances in pretreatment technology are critical in order to develop high-yielding, cost-competitive routes to renewable fuels and chemicals.Aqueous Pretreatment of Plant Biomass for Biological and Chemical Conversion to Fuels and Chemicals presents a comprehensive overview of the currently available aqueous pretreatment technologies for cellulosic biomass, highlighting the fundamental chemistry and biology of each method, key attributes and limitations, and opportunities for future advances.Topics covered include:• The importance of biomass conversion to fuels• The role of pretreatment in biological and chemical conversion of biomass• Composition and structure of biomass, and recalcitrance to conversion• Fundamentals of biomass pretreatment at low, neutral and high pH• Ionic liquid and organosolv pretreatments to fractionate biomass• Comparative data for application of leading pretreatments and effect of enzyme formulations• Physical and chemical features of pretreated biomass• Economics of pretreatment for biological processing• Methods of analysis and enzymatic conversion of biomass streams• Experimental  pretreatment systems from multiwell plates to pilot plant operations This comprehensive reference book provides an authoritative source of information on the pretreatment of cellulosic biomass to aid those experienced in the field to access the most current information on the topic.  It will also be invaluable to those entering the growing field of biomass conversion.

In the Seventeenth Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, leading researchers from academia, industry, and government present state-of-the-art papers on how bioengineering can be used to produce fuels and chemicals competitively. This year's program covered topics in thermal, chemical, and biological processing; applied biological processing; bioprocessing research; process economics and commercialization; and environmental biotechnology. The ideas and techniques described will play an important role in developing new biological processes for producing fuels and chemicals on a large scale, and in reducing pollution, waste disposal problems, and the potential for global climate change.

In Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, based on the 18th Symposium, held in Gatlinburg, TN, May 5-9, 1996, leading researchers from academia, industry, and government present state-of-the-art research results and promising new concepts on the use of biotechnology to produce fuels and chemicals competitively. The Eighteenth Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals covers the development of new biological agents (such as enzymes or microbes) to carry out targeted conversions, in addition to actual bioprocess development. Topics range from improvements in enzymes to fundamental insights into substrate enzyme interactions and photosynthesis, and from conversions of substrates using biological agents to combinations of chemical engineering, biological sciences, and fermentation technology. Agricultural crops, such as corn and corn fiber, as well as woody biomass and lignocellulosic wastes, are investigated for use in process feedstocks, including pretreatment studies. Also treated are a variety of potential bioconversion products, including fumaric acid, succinic acid, methane, enzymes, glucuronic acid, and biodiesel fuel.

In the Seventeenth Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, leading researchers from academia, industry, and government present state-of-the-art papers on how bioengineering can be used to produce fuels and chemicals competitively. This year's program covered topics in thermal, chemical, and biological processing; applied biological processing; bioprocessing research; process economics and commercialization; and environmental biotechnology. The ideas and techniques described will play an important role in developing new biological processes for producing fuels and chemicals on a large scale, and in reducing pollution, waste disposal problems, and the potential for global climate change.

BRIAN H. DAVISON Oak Ridge National Laboratory MARK FINKELSTEIN National Renewable Energy Laboratory CHARLES E. WYMAN Oak Ridge National Laboratory The Eighteenth Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemi­ cals continues to provide a forum for the presentation of research results and the exchange of ideas on advances in biotechnology for the produc­ tion of fuels and chemicals. Although the emphasis is on utilization of renewable resources, the scope of the Symposium is broader than this and includes bioconversion of fossil fuels and syngas and the new area of conversions in nonaqueous environments; these areas were discussed in Session 5 and in a Special Topic Discussion Group at the Symposium. In addition, recent developments in bioremediation were well represented in Session 6 and in the poster session. The Symposium involved both the development of new biological agents (such as enzymes or microbes) to carry out targeted conversions as well as bioprocess development. The first area covered improvements in enzymes as well as fundamental insights into substrate-enzyme inter­ actions and photosynthesis. The latter area focused on converting one material into another using biological agents through combinations of chemical engineering, biological sciences, and fermentation technology. This area also refers to an overall processing involving at least one bio­ logically catalyzed step in combination with other physical and/ or chemi­ cal processing operations. Agricultural crops, such as corn and corn fiber as well as woody biomass and lignocellulosic wastes, are emphasized for process feedstocks and their pretreatment investigated.