Biomass resource is very rich. The annual global biomass production is equivalent to 10 times of world energy consumption. Almost all biomass is in the form of lignocellulose that contains about 50% cellulose (e.g., wood, grass and crop-straws). Therefore, how to effectively and economically convert cellulose to sugars is the key for biorefining of biomass to biofuels and chemicals. （更多…）
During the bioethanol production, pretreatment, serving as the process to de-crystallization of natural cellulose, is required to benefit the subsequent enzymatic saccharification and to increase the porosity of its surface. （更多…）
Recently, biodiesel has gained significant attention as it is a renewable, biodegradable, less pollutant emitting, non-toxic and more environmentally friendly fuel source as compared with the fossil diesel fuel available at present. Biodiesel can be used as a substitute for petrochemical diesel by blending with petrochemical diesel. In the past 10 years, global biodiesel market emerged stabile growth of biodiesel production. The raw materials for biodiesel production account for almost 60～80% of the total biodiesel cost. Therefore, a number of research projects have been carried out using non-edible oils such as Jatropha oil or fats, and other waste oils, to reduce the raw material cost. （更多…）
Development of bio-refineries has recently attracted increasing attention as a means to provide sustainable alternative solutions to deplete environmental pollution and energy crisis. As more and more Jatropha seeds are used to extract crude oil for biodiesel, a large amount of hulls is generated. How to make full use of these hulls is important for Jatropha biodiesel industry. As Jatrophahulls are rich in carbohydrate (cellulose: 43%; hemicellulose: 15%), further studies are necessary to utilize these polysaccharides to produce sugars for value-added products, such as ethanol, acetic acid, 2,3-butanediol. 2,3-Butanediol is one of the important bio-based chemicals and liquid fuels that exhibits a wide range of potential utilizations in the manufacture of printing inks, perfumes, fumigants, moistening, plasticizers, foods and pharmaceuticals. （更多…）
In the saccharification of lignocellulosic materials, enzymatic hydrolysis is regarded as a green approach operating under mild reaction conditions with subsequent higher glucose yields. However, the hydrolysis rate can be declined by the presence of lignin, which acts as a physical barrier shielding cellulose from enzymatic attack. Lignin can also cause losses of enzymes (cellulases and β-glucosidases) through their binding to lignin, and deactivation of enzyme activities can occur from products arising from lignin degradation. In order to access the cellulose and reduce lignin before hydrolysis, some pretreatment methods can be developed by using white-rot fungi. （更多…）