A techno-economic review of thermochemical cellulosic biofuel pathways

•Techno-economic analyses of thermochemical cellulosic biofuel pathways are reviewed.•The results of the techno-economic analyses are compared.•Differences in assumptions result in a wide range of financial result values.•The importance of justifying assumptions and analyzing uncertainty is discussed. Recent advances in the thermochemical processing of biomass have resulted in efforts to commercialize several cellulosic biofuel pathways. Until commercial-scale production is achieved, however, techno-economic analysis is a useful methodology for quantifying the economic competitiveness of these pathways with petroleum, providing one indication of their long-term feasibility under the U.S. revised Renewable Fuel Standard. This review paper covers techno-economic analyses of thermochemical cellulosic biofuel pathways in the open literature, discusses and compares their results, and recommends the adoption of additional analytical methodologies that will increase the value of future pathway analyses.