Biofuels and Biorefineries have been in vogue for centuries but are still confronted with techno-economic hurdles on their way to full-fledged commercialization. Considering a holistic approach, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the reported processes and contemporary improvements, providing futuristic insights into the creation of high-throughput process pipelines in the realm of biofuels. The 15 individual chapters presented here encompass critical industrial aspects, commencing from: deciphering the contemporary global status of biofuel research with a scientometric overview; offering solutions for plant biomass management, discussing problem-solving approaches related to cellulolytic fungal diversity and the second-generation ethanol’s production; analyses of select hydrogen production technologies, specially blue-hydrogen; hydrothermal liquefaction; microbes’ genetic manipulation-driven biorefineries, exploration of algal biomasses’ diversity, and their engineered use for biomass-based fuels; integrated techniques for carbon sequestration and utilization; the rapid implementation of artificial intelligence in biorefineries. This book can serve as a learning resource and reference material for biofuel researchers and scientists, and the new-generation research fraternity, which looks forward to pursing biofuel-related research in the future.

Dr. Baskar Gurunathan, the Head of Global networking, and a senior Professor at the Department of Biotechnology of St. Joseph’s College of Engineering, Chennai, India, has several years of teaching and research experience. Prof. Baskar has published several research and review articles in reputed National and International Journals, apart from numerous book chapters. Furthermore, he has served as an editor for various specialized books in a plethora of domains, pertinent to Biotechnology. Dr. Baskar is a fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India) and International Society for Energy Environment and Sustainability, and is an active member of various national and international professional bodies. He is bestowed with several national and international awards. Well recognized for his contributions among peers, Prof. Baskar serves as the head of global networking to foster networking with global universities/institutes.

Dr. Meena Krishania is a Scientist at the National Agri-Food and Biomanufacturing Institute (formerly the Centre of Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing, CIAB), Punjab. She has been actively involved in translational, industrial-scale research for over a decade. As the Head of the Bioprocess Engineering Laboratory at the Institute, she has served and continues to serve as the Principal Investigator for several Indian government-funded research projects. Her research expertise includes biomass valorization for bioenergy, value-added food supplements, and bioplastic production. Dr. Krishania has received several prestigious honors, including the Young Researcher Award and the Early Career Researcher Award, along with multiple recognitions from national and international scientific agencies. Dr. Krishania and her team have secured numerous patents for indigenously developed technologies. She received her Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering and has published several research articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings. She is also part of Government of India’s DBT Bio-manufacturing hub mission and actively collaborates with national, international academic and industrial partners to develop technologies aimed at the betterment of humankind.

Dr. Navnit Kumar Ramamoorthy is currently an Assistant Professor of Biotechnology at the Central University of Rajasthan, India. Dr. Ramamoorthy is a bioprocess engineer, with more than a decade of industrial research experience at the lab-, pilot- and commercial- scales. He has served researcher roles with various biorefinery-related research labs, such as the Hindustan Petroleum’s Corporate R&D, the DBT-IOCL’s consortium, in India, and a few international industries. Specializing in customized reactor designs, computational fluid dynamics simulations, in-vitro metabolic engineering and r-DNA technology. Dr. Ramamoorthy, as a principal inventor, along with industry and academic collaborators, has secured several patents for the technologies developed. In addition to the consultancy projects headed by Dr. Ramamoorthy as a Chief Technology Officer of an organization, he has successfully completed several government-funded projects in India. He has been the recipient of national and international awards, notably, the “Young Innovator” of the years 2019 and 2021. Dr. Ramamoorthy’s waste-based biorefinery models address concepts such as “fuel for all”, and a “biofuel co-operative” to improve the livelihood of Indian farmers. Dr. Ramamoorthy holds numerous secured/granted indigenous and international patents and trademarks.