Abstract:
With the depletion of fossil fuel reserves, there is an urgent need to search for renewable and cost effective
strategies for biofuel production. Lignocellulosic biomass has been perceived as a potential feedstock,
wherein effective pretreatment and saccharification is necessary prerequisite for developing viable biofuel
processes. Recent approaches in this context are, (i) studying enzymes from extremophilic organisms,
particularly thermophiles which are gaining importance in this aspect as they are found to be stable and
catalytically more effective under harsh conditions; (ii) usage of ionic liquids for pretreatment is emerging
as a greener technology due to their non toxic nature. Developing/screening for ionic liquid tolerant
lignocellulosic enzymes in order to attain simultaneous pretreatment and saccharification, offer an interesting
option; and (iii) engineering/manipulating the existing lignocellulosic enzymes for desirable traits
and viable saccharification and biofuel generation processes. The review encompasses these approaches
and the focus on the recent development in the area.
