Prospective technologies, feedstocks and market innovations for ethanol and biodiesel production in the US

In recent years, production and consumption of biofuels has become controversial, mainly due to the competitive use of natural resources for food/feed and fuel production. Second generation biofuels (with cellulosic ethanol being on top of developments nowadays) have a great potential to provide an economically feasible solution. However, high processing costs related to breaking down cellulosic plant material and converting it to sugar (and fuel), missing infrastructure and environmental impacts can be detrimental. This paper discusses various biofuels technologies and feedstocks that have a potential to emerge as prospective feedstocks for second generation biofuels production in the future on the US market. It also emphasizes existing challenges that could hinder the development of these technologies and their commercialization in the long-term.