Deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol production: Recent advances and future prospects

The total annual emission due to fossil fuel and agro waste stubble burning is 36.73 teragrams CO₂ equivalent. Many international organizations focus on alternative energy sources such as biofuel production. In the recent past, biofuel production has gathered pace and increased dramatically, with the USA and Brazil topping the list for bioethanol production. Recent advancements in pre-treatment technologies include the use of ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents. In this review, many recent advancements on pre-treatment technology of biomass have been discussed. This review also emphasizes on the recent advancements made in the field of saccharification technology. Bioethanol production from cellulosic biomass is facilitated by a complex set of enzymes mainly endoglucanase, exoglucanase and ß-glucosidase apart from other auxillary enzymes and accessory protiens. In this review, multiple approaches have been explored which enhance biofuel production such as developing cellulose degrading microbial consortia and genetically modified microbes. This study also highlights the importance of bioethanol production with reference to climate change concerns, advances in technologies and future perspectives.