Plant Biomass Conversion

As concerns regarding increasing energy prices, global warming and renewable resources continue to grow, so has scientific discovery into agricultural biomass conversion. Plant Biomass Conversion addresses both the development of plant biomass and conversion technology, in addition to issues surrounding biomass conversion, such as the affect on water resources and soil sustainability. This book also offers a brief overview of the current status of the industry and examples of production plants being used in current biomass conversion efforts.

Elizabeth Hood, Ph.D, is a Distinguished Professor of Agriculture at Arkansas State University.

Peter Nelson is a principal in BioDimensions, providing services for startup companies developing green technology.

Randy Powell, Ph.D, is the president of Powell Consulting, LLC, a construction consulting firm promoting biofuel and bioproducts.

Contributors.

Preface.

1 The Bioeconomy: A New Era of Products Derived from Renewable Plant-Based Feedstocks (Peter Nelson, Elizabeth Hood, and Randall Powell).

2 Agricultural Residues (James Hettenhaus).

3 Growing Systems for Traditional and New Forest-Based Materials (Randall Rousseau, Janet Hawkes, Shijie Liu, and Tom Amidon).

4 Dedicated Herbaceous Energy Crops (Keat (Thomas) Teoh, Shivakumar Pattada Devaiah, Deborah Vicuna Requesens, and Elizabeth E. Hood).

5 Municipal Solid Waste as a Biomass Feedstock (David J. Webster).

6 Water Sustainability in Biomass Cropping Systems (Jennifer L. Bouldin and Rodney E. Wright).

7 Soil Sustainability Issues in Energy Crop Production (V. Steven Green).

8 Fermentation Organisms for 5-and 6-Carbon Sugars (Nicholas Dufour, Jeffrey Swana, and Reeta P. Rao).

9 Pretreatment Options (Bradley A. Saville).

10 Enzyme Production Systems for Biomass Conversion (John A. Howard, Zivko Nikolov, and Elizabeth E. Hood).

11 Fermentation-Based Biofuels (Randy Kramer and Helene Belanger).

12 Biobased Chemicals and Polymers (Randall W. Powell, Clare Elton, Ross Prestidge, and Helene Belanger).

13 Carbon Offset Potential of Biomass-Based Energy (Gauri-Shankar Guha).

14 Biofuel Economics (Daniel Klein-Marcuschamer, Brad Holmes, Blake A. Simmons, and Harvey W. Blanch).

Index.