Microbial glycoside hydrolases for biomass utilization in biofuels applications

• Renewable biomass is predicted to have the potential to meet at least a quarter of the world demand for transportation fuel, but to do so both terrestrial lignocellulosic as well as marine algal resources need to be efficiently utilized. In the processes where these biomasses are converted into different types of energy carriers (for example fuel-alcohols e.g. ethanol or butanol) microbial glycoside hydrolases (GHs) have a role in the saccharification process. During saccharification polymeric carbohydrate resources (e.g. starch, cellulose or hemicellulose) are hydrolyzed into mono and oligosaccharides that can be utilized by the organism selected to ferment these carbohydrates into the desired energy-carrier. This chapter aims to shed light on different processing alternatives for the conversion of lignocellulose or algal starch into mono or oligosaccharides, and what roles the microbial GHs have as processing aids in these conversions.

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