Lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol: Recent advances, technology trends, and barriers to industrial development

Among the major challenges of the century, reducing the world's dependence on fossil fuels is the most important. In this context, several approaches have been considered, including the production of lignocellulosic ethanol or second-generation bioethanol. After this preprocessing, second-generation bioethanol is produced using a process involving four primary steps. Different processes of hydrolysis and fermentation are highlighted and then technology trends and barriers to industrial development are commented. [Display omitted] •Lignocellulosic ethanol has received increasing attention because of the depletion of fossil resources.•Lignocellulosic ethanol can be produced in four main stages with hydrolysis and fermentation steps that can be simultaneous.•An overview of lignocellulosic ethanol production is summarized.