Recent Advances and Challenges in Biobutanol Production

Abstract

In recent years, changes in crude oil prices and environment-related issues have compelled the scientific community to look towards renewable resources for the biological production of butanol. Butanol is considered an advanced biofuel owing to its environmentally friendly nature and superior qualities compared with ethanol. The production of butanol via biotechnological routes has some drawbacks, such as product inhibition, high cost of the substrate, low butanol productivity and incomplete knowledge of the microbial genome. To improve butanol productivity, it is necessary to have a deep knowledge of the functioning of genes in metabolic and regulatory pathways and to develop some advanced metabolic engineering tools. This chapter highlights genetic modifications to improve the solvent tolerance capacity of microbial strains, the development of effective microbial consortia for biomass fermentation and different fermentation types employed for high-titer butanol production. The chapter also sheds light on some globally adapted advanced fermentation techniques such as physiochemical and biological pretreatment methods, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) and consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) to enhance butanol production from lignocellulosic biomass. These potential solutions will strengthen the hope of having a cost-effective and energy-efficient butanol production process in the near future.