Series Editor:

Christian V. Stevens, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium

Titles in the Series:

Wood Modification: Chemical, Thermal and Other Processes

Callum A. S. Hill

Renewables‐Based Technology: Sustainability Assessment

Jo Dewulf and Herman Van Langenhove

Biofuels

Wim Soetaert and Erik Vandamme

Handbook of Natural Colorants

Thomas Bechtold and Rita Mussak

Surfactants from Renewable Resources

Mikael Kjellin and Ingegärd Johansson

Industrial Applications of Natural Fibres: Structure, Properties and Technical Applications

Jörg Müssig

Thermochemical Processing of Biomass: Conversion into Fuels, Chemicals and Power

Robert C. Brown

Biorefinery Co‐Products: Phytochemicals, Primary Metabolites and Value‐Added Biomass Processing

Chantal Bergeron, Danielle Julie Carrier and Shri Ramaswamy

Aqueous Pretreatment of Plant Biomass for Biological and Chemical Conversion to Fuels and Chemicals

Charles E. Wyman

Bio‐Based Plastics: Materials and Applications

Stephan Kabasci

Introduction to Wood and Natural Fiber Composites

Douglas D. Stokke, Qinglin Wu and Guangping Han

Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems

Douglas L. Karlen

Introduction to Chemicals from Biomass, 2nd Edition

James H. Clark and Fabien Deswarte

Lignin and Lignans as Renewable Raw Materials: Chemistry, Technology and Applications

Francisco G. Calvo‐Flores, Jose A. Dobado, Joaquín Isac‐García and Francisco J. Martín‐Martínez

Sustainability Assessment of Renewables‐Based Products: Methods and Case Studies

Jo Dewulf, Steven De Meester and Rodrigo A. F. Alvarenga

Cellulose Nanocrystals: Properties, Production and Applications

Wadood Hamad

Fuels, Chemicals and Materials from the Oceans and Aquatic Sources

Francesca M. Kerton and Ning Yan

Bio‐Based Solvents

François Jérôme and Rafael Luque

Nanoporous Catalysts for Biomass Conversion

Feng‐Shou Xiao and Liang Wang

Forthcoming Titles:

Chitin and Chitosan: Properties and Applications

Lambertus A.M. van den Broek and Carmen G. Boeriu

Biorefinery of Inorganics: Recovering Mineral Nutrients from Biomass and Organic Waste

Eric Meers and Gerard Velthof

The Chemical Biology of Plant Biostimulants

Danny Geelen and Lin Xu

Waste Valorization: Waste Streams in a Circular Economy

Sze Ki Lin

This book is dedicated to former and current students and staff who helped build the thermochemical processing programs of the Bioeconomy Institute and its predecessor, the Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies, at Iowa State University.

• Karl O. Albrecht Chemical and Biological Process Development Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA

• Larry L. Baxter Department of Chemical Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA

• Karl M. Broer Gas Technology Institute, Des Plaines, IL, USA
• Robert C. Brown Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

• Tristan Brown Department of Forest and Natural Resources Management, SUNY ESF, Syracuse, NY, USA

• David C. Dayton RTI International, Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

• Eskinder Demisse Gemechu Department of Mechanical Engineering, Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• Arpa Ghosh Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

• Raghubir Gupta RTI International, Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

• Martin R. Haverly Technical Services, Renewable Energy Group, Ames, IA, USA

• Laura R. Jarboe Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

• Bryan M. Jenkins Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

• Jaap Koppejan Procede Biomass BV, Enschede, Netherlands

• Amit Kumar Department of Mechanical Engineering, Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• Jake K. Lindstrom Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

• Edson Norgueira, Jr., Department of Mechanical Engineering, Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• Mariefel V. Olarte Chemical and Biological Process Development Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA

• Adetoyese Olajire Oyedun Department of Mechanical Engineering, Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• Chad Peterson Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

• Alexander Shaw School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK

• Brian Turk RTI International, Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

• Robbie H. Venderbosch Biomass Technology Group BV, AV Enschede, the Netherlands

• Huamin Wang Chemical and Biological Process Development Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA

• Zhiyou Wen Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

• Mark M. Wright Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

• Xiaolei Zhang School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK

Renewable resources, their use and modification are involved in a multitude of important processes with a major influence on our everyday lives. Applications can be found in the energy sector, paints and coatings, and the chemical, pharmaceutical, and textile industry, to name but a few.

The area interconnects several scientific disciplines (agriculture, biochemistry, chemistry, technology, environmental sciences, forestry, etc.), which makes it very difficult to have an expert view on the complicated interaction. Therefore, the idea to create a series of scientific books that will focus on specific topics concerning renewable resources, has been very opportune and can help to clarify some of the underlying connections in this area.

In a very fast changing world, trends are not only characteristic for fashion and political standpoints; science is also not free from hypes and buzzwords. The use of renewable resources is again more important nowadays; however, it is not part of a hype or a fashion. As the lively discussions among scientists continue about how many years we will still be able to use fossil fuels – opinions ranging from 50 to 500 years – they do agree that the reserve is limited and that it is essential not only to search for new energy carriers but also for new material sources.

In this respect, renewable resources are a crucial area in the search for alternatives for fossil‐based raw materials and energy. In the field of energy supply, biomass and renewables‐based resources will be part of the solution alongside other alternatives such as solar energy, wind energy, hydraulic power, hydrogen technology, and nuclear energy. In the field of material sciences, the impact of renewable resources will probably be even bigger. Integral utilization of crops and the use of waste streams in certain industries will grow in importance, leading to a more sustainable way of producing materials. Although our society was much more (almost exclusively) based on renewable resources centuries ago, this disappeared in the Western world in the nineteenth century. Now it is time to focus again on this field of research. However, it should not mean a “retour à la nature,” but it should be a multidisciplinary effort on a highly technological level to perform research towards new opportunities, to develop new crops and products from renewable resources. This will be essential to guarantee a level of comfort for a growing number of people living on our planet. It is “the” challenge for the coming generations of scientists to develop more sustainable ways to create prosperity and to fight poverty and hunger in the world. A global approach is certainly favoured.

This challenge can only be dealt with if scientists are attracted to this area and are recognized for their efforts in this interdisciplinary field. It is, therefore, also essential that consumers recognize the fate of renewable resources in a number of products.

Furthermore, scientists do need to communicate and discuss the relevance of their work. The use and modification of renewable resources may not follow the path of the genetic engineering concept in view of consumer acceptance in Europe. Related to this aspect, the series will certainly help to increase the visibility of the importance of renewable resources. Being convinced of the value of the renewables approach for the industrial world, as well as for developing countries, I was myself delighted to collaborate on this series of books focusing on different aspects of renewable resources. I hope that readers become aware of the complexity, the interaction and interconnections, and the challenges of this field and that they will help to communicate on the importance of renewable resources.

I certainly want to thank the people of Wiley's Chichester office, especially David Hughes, Jenny Cossham and Lyn Roberts, in seeing the need for such a series of books on renewable resources, for initiating and supporting it, and for helping to carry the project to the end.

Last, but not least, I want to thank my family, especially my wife Hilde and children Paulien and Pieter‐Jan, for their patience and for giving me the time to work on the series when other activities seemed to be more inviting.

The genesis of this book was an invitation by Christian Stevens to describe the “thermochemical option” for biofuels production at the Third International Conference on Renewable Resources and Biorefineries at Ghent University in 2007. At that time, many people working in the biofuels community viewed thermochemical processing as little more than an anachronism in the age of biotechnology. I was very appreciative of Chris' interest in exploring alternative pathways. After the conference, he followed up with an invitation to submit a book proposal on thermochemical processing to the Wiley Series in Renewable Resources, for which he serves as Series Editor. I was happy to accept, although the press of other responsibilities slowed publication until 2011. In the intervening decade since the book was first proposed, the subject of thermochemical processing has moved from relative obscurity to prominence, offering several pathways to advanced biofuels, bio‐based chemicals, and biopower.

The first edition having been well received, the publisher contacted me about preparing a second edition with updated material on thermochemical processing. Retirements and changes in interests among the original contributors to the first edition have resulted in several changes in lead authorship of chapters. Xiaolei Zhang has substantially rewritten the introductory chapter on thermochemical processing. Jake Lindstrom has prepared a perspective on condensed phase reactions during thermal deconstruction. Karl Broer, co‐author of the original chapter on gasification, led revisions for the second edition. Karl Albrecht has updated the chapter on bio‐oil upgrading. Arpa Ghosh offers a comprehensive review of solvent liquefaction, including the production of sugars as well as of bio‐oil, the focus of the original chapter. Zhiyou Wen has rewritten the chapter on hybrid processing, which has advanced significantly in the last decade. Amit Kumar agreed to prepare a chapter on the sustainability of thermochemical processing, a new topic in the second edition. I was extremely pleased to have Bryan Jenkins, David Dayton, Robbie Venderbosch, and Mark Wright return as lead authors on the chapters dealing with combustion, syngas upgrading, pyrolysis, and techno‐economic analysis, respectively. I am impressed with the team of co‐authors that each of the lead authors assembled to help them prepare their chapters.

The project editors at Wiley were extremely patient and helpful as I worked through the second edition of Thermochemical Processing of Biomass – many thanks to Emma Strickland, Sarah Higginbotham, Rebecca Ralf, and Lesley Jebaraj. I am also indebted to several people who helped me with administrative and management responsibilities at the Bioeconomy Institute (BEI) at Iowa State University while the second edition was being prepared: Ryan Smith, Jill Euken, Mary Scott‐Hall, and Scott Moseley. Finally, I wish to acknowledge my wife, Carolyn, who has been the most steadfast of all during the preparation of both editions.