Synthetic fuels from biomass: Potentials and viability

In view of a world-wide growing fuel demand coming along with a strong environmental impact, exploration of alternative resources, preferably renewable ones, is vastly stimulated. Regarding carbon-based fuels, biomass is the only renewable feedstock which can be converted efficiently to fuels employing either fermentative or chemical processes. Naturally, the use of residues and wastes is preferred to circumvent competition with customary markets, especially the nutrition sector. Typical fermentative procedures, which are already employed on large scale, are the production of ethanol from sugars, starch or cellulose as well as methane production via anaerobic digestion of biomass.