Switchgrass as an energy crop for biofuel production: A review of its ligno-cellulosic chemical properties
Abstract
Over the past two decades, the use of biomass as a resource for biofuels and bioenergy has garnered much interest. The reduction in green house gas emissions of renewable fuels as compared to conventional fossil fuels, coupled with the sustainability of these technological approaches, has fostered increased research into this field. Switchgrass is a perennial grass native to North America, and as a feedstock for biofuels it has garnered much interest because of its high productivity, adaptability and potential ease of integration into existing agricultural operations. In order to maximize the use of switchgrass as an energy crop, the chemical constituents as well as the chemical processes involved in its conversion to biofuels need to be understood. The goal of this paper is to review the published work on the chemistry of switchgrass as it pertains to biofuel production including elemental composition, chemical composition, biopolymer constituents and their structure. In addition, the impacts of these chemical constituents on the biological conversion to ethanol and pyrolysis oils are summarized.
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Cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin can be decomposed into glucose or other sugars by enzymes, and then bio-ethanol can be produced by yeast fermentation.
“Cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin can be decomposed into glucose or other sugars by enzymes and then bio-ethanol can be produced by yeast fermentation [74].”
From Effects of Biofuel Crop Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) Cultivation on Soil Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Review (2022) · cites this paper as [74]
Contaminated biomass harvested from switchgrass can be used as raw material for biofuel production.
“Moreover, the contaminated biomass harvested can be used as raw material for biofuel production.”
From Effects of Biofuel Crop Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) Cultivation on Soil Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Review (2022) · cites this paper as [74]
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- Authors
- David, K., & Ragauskas, A. J.
- Affiliations
- Georgia Institute of Technology (US)
- Corresponding author
- Ragauskas, Arthur J.
- ORCID
- Ragauskas, Arthur J.
- Venue
- Energy & Environmental Science
- Publisher
- Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
- Published
- 2010
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1182
- ISSN
- 1754-5692 (ISSN-L)
- 1754-5706
- OpenAlex
- W2139534359
- Cited by
- 235
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 12
- FWCI
- 9.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Energy & Environmental Science (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Office of Science
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Biofuel production and bioconversion
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Bioenergy crop production and management
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Thermochemical Biomass Conversion Processes
- Keywords
- switchgrass, biofuels, lignocellulosic biomass, biomass feedstock, elemental composition, chemical composition, biopolymer structure, ethanol production, bio-oil, greenhouse gas emissions, bioenergy
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