Techno-economic analysis of biochemical conversion of biomass to biofuels and platform chemicals

Biomass is the most versatile feedstock for renewable energy and chemical production. Biochemical techniques such as fermentation and biomethanation have been developed extensively for converting biomass into bioethanol, biogas, and high-value platform chemicals. However, the techno-economic feasibility of the various biochemical techniques for the production of a range of biofuels and chemicals has not been fully consolidated in a review. This paper reviews the techno-economic studies of biochemical conversion of biomass in a comparative fashion between feedstocks, treatment methods, and product types. The review starts with an overview of various biomass treatment approaches and the need for pre-treatment for processing second-generation feedstocks. This is followed by a review of the main biochemical conversion processes, offering insights into process stages, product yields and quality, as well as commercialization prospects and challenges. The various techno-economic aspects of biomass conversion via biochemical techniques, such as conversion efficiency, production capacity, minimum selling price, capital cost, unit production cost, and profitability metrics, are critically reviewed. It was found that bioethanol and biogas are the most commercially viable products from the biochemical processing of biomass. The production of other biofuels and chemicals such as biobutanol, biohydrogen, furfural, volatile fatty acids, succinate, levulinic acid, and sugar alcohols via biochemical techniques is still largely limited by low conversion, frail microbial strains, cost of enzymes, and separation, and refining challenges. Overcoming these technical bottlenecks, and addressing the issues of feedstock price and supply security, are crucial for enhancing the overall techno-economic attractiveness of biochemical processes for fuels and chemical production from biomass resources.