Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
Brief Introduction to the Biotechnology
of Lignocellulose
Abstract
Biomass resources, from the point of bioconversion, mainly include
energy storage substances (e.g., starch, fat, etc.) and the main components of plant
cell walls, such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Protein, starch, and fat have
been utilized extensively and efficiently and have been reported in many times
in literature. This topic focuses on the application of biotechnologies in natural
cellulosic feedstocks; this application has not been fully utilized because of the
concomitant formation of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. In this chapter, the
concept of natural lignocellulose has two meanings. The first refers to renewable
resources synthesized through photosynthesis; the second refers to such resources
that have a complex intertwined structure of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin.
Keywords
Natural lignocelluloses • Structural inhomogeneity • Biotechnology
of lignocelluloses
1.1
Definition of Natural Lignocellulose
The concepts of biomass were first rooted in ecology, but now increasingly are
defined from the point of utilization of resources and industrialization. According
to the definition of the U.S. national energy security regulations,
biomass
refers to
renewable organic materials, including agricultural products and agricultural waste,
wood and wood waste, animal waste, urban wastes, and aquatic plants [
1
]. Biomass
in the Japanese Industrial Standards is defined as the collection of organisms derived
from organic material in Earth's biosphere recycling system [
2
]. Basically, biomass
is synthesized through the photosynthesis of solar energy, water, and carbon dioxide.
Because of its most important renewable features, biomass is also known as a
renewable resource. Biomass resources are abundant. The solar energy captured by
biomass is sufficient to supply the needs of 1.5
10
11
people, more than 28 times
the current world population [
3
].
