Current status and perspectives on biobutanol production using lignocellulosic feedstocks

Due to the non-renewability of fossil fuels, biobutanol production from lignocellulosic materials has attracted more and more attention. Traditional acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation has been investigated for more than 100 years by using the well-known solventogenic Clostridium beijerinckii and C. acetobutylicum. However, these microorganisms cannot directly utilize lignocellulosic materials. Chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis are the most commonly used approaches for lignocellulose pretreatment. However, the occurrence of inhibitors and high cost of various required enzymes make the fermentation process less competitive. This review summarizes the current status of biobutanol fermentation from lignocellulosic feedstock pretreated by chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis. Finally, the emerging strategies to further improve lignocellulosic butanol production via consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) are introduced and the challenges of biobutanol commercialization from lignocellulose are discussed.