CHAPTER 1:Biomass and its Biorefinery: Novel Approaches from Nature-Inspired Strategies and Technology

The aim of this chapter is to review the current state of the art in biological conversion of cellulosic biomass for fuels and chemicals, and, with those intractable and fundamental challenges we still face, introduce novel approaches obtained from nature-inspired strategies. Technological advances will potentially provide new solutions for efficient and economic conversion of biomass in biorefinery processing. This chapter also serves as a reading guide for the unique contents in each chapter. Thus, as a comprehensive introduction of the book, a total of 18 chapters are divided into two main parts: 1) recent understanding of plant cell wall recalcitrance and the technologies of modifying plant cell walls aimed to improve conversion efficiency (Chapter 2–6); 2) exploratory research in various natural biomass degrading systems and the rational for biomimetic strategies for cost-competitive biofuels production, which include integrating the advanced nature-inspired strategies and technologies into a modern biorefinery system via a comprehensive techno-economic analysis (Chapter 7–19). We hope that this introduction chapter will help you identify the useful contents for your research as well as initiate productive dialog and collaborations between scientists working in various disciplines.