Catalytic conversion of biomass to biofuels

Biomass has received considerable attention as a sustainable feedstock that can replace diminishing fossil fuels for the production of energy, especially for the transportation sector. The overall strategy in the production of hydrocarbon fuels from biomass is (i) to reduce the substantial oxygen content of the parent feedstock to improve energy density and (ii) to create C–C bonds between biomass-derived intermediates to increase the molecular weight of the final hydrocarbon product. We begin this review with a brief overview of first-generation biofuels, specifically bioethanol and biodiesel. We consider the implications of utilizing starchy and triglyceride feedstocks from traditional food crops, and we…