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Biofuels: Sources, Modern Technology Developments and Views on Bioenergy Management

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Biotechnology for Biofuels: A Sustainable Green Energy Solution

Abstract

Increasing energy demands and the rising global carbon footprint are forcing mankind to look for alternative green fuels. Fuels derived from biological sources are considered to be green fuels since they do not release toxic pollutants upon combustion. The global accumulation of the carbon footprint and accelerated demands on energy are pushing us to look for alternative green fuels based on renewable resources. Hence, identification of potential sources of green fuels produced by biological means and utilization of these resources for commercialization provide the context of the priorities for future energy needs. The two major concepts considered for next-generation green fuels are (i) fuels that do not increase the carbon footprint (e.g. hydrogen fuel) and (ii) utilization of photosynthetic processes to fix CO2 and produce biofuels. Keeping these two priorities in mind, this chapter provides a detailed discussion of various biofuels available for mankind, which can replace traditional hydrocarbon-based fossil fuels. These biofuels could help in reducing the global carbon footprint. The chapter gives information about the various biological sources for production of biodiesel and microbial sources for production of liquid fuels. This chapter also discusses the concept of microbial fuel cells, the importance of biohydrogen, aspects of molecular engineering of organisms to enhance productivity, fabrication of microbial systems for production of biofuels and the prospects for biofuel production by utilizing modern biotechnology tools.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank DBT (Department of Biotechnology) India for funding under the Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship (Project # AUR002), and thank Prof. Rajendra Kumar Pandey (Vice-Chancellor, Amity University Chhattisgarh, Raipur) and Dr. Ravi Kanth Singh (Director, Amity Institute of Biotechnology) for their kind support and encouragement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Chhattisgarh, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India

    Sushma Chauhan, Balasubramanian Velramar, Rakesh Kumar Soni, Mohit Mishra & Pamidimarri D. V. N. Sudheer

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  1. Sushma Chauhan
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  2. Balasubramanian Velramar
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  3. Rakesh Kumar Soni
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  4. Mohit Mishra
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  5. Pamidimarri D. V. N. Sudheer
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Correspondence to Pamidimarri D. V. N. Sudheer .

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  1. Department of Biotechnology, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, Bihar, India

    Nitish Kumar

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Chauhan, S., Velramar, B., Soni, R.K., Mishra, M., Sudheer, P.D.V.N. (2020). Biofuels: Sources, Modern Technology Developments and Views on Bioenergy Management. In: Kumar, N. (eds) Biotechnology for Biofuels: A Sustainable Green Energy Solution. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3761-5_8

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