Bioethanol in India: Recent Past and Emerging Future

There is renewed interest in bioethanol technology in view of its large potential as a transportation fuel. Bioethanol production based on lignocellulosic biomass, being the technology of the future, has been examined. The major issue is the production of ethanol at a competitive price. Biomass-based ethanol technologies are still evolving and the commercialization of this technology has to overcome various bottlenecks. Keeping this perspective in view, bioethanol technologies are analyzed in terms of feedstock availability, pretreatment strategies, efficient hydrolytic agents, availability of recombinant ethanologens and process economics with a focus on Indian research efforts. It provides indicators for research priorities to achieve these objectives.