Chemical and Functional Properties of Food Saccharides

21
CONTENTS
© 2004 by CRC Press LLC
Glucose — Our Lasting
Source of Energy
Heinz Th. K. Ruck
21.1 Introduction
21.2 Elements of Fuel Cells
21.3 Can Biomass Replace Oil?
21.4 Methane — An Abundant Biogas
21.5 Birth of the Green Biorefinery
21.6 Green Biorefineries for Ethanol Production
21.7 The Search for Supercellulases
21.8 How to Boost Ethanol Supply?
21.9 The Ethanosolv Process by T.N. Kleinert
21.10 ReShuffle of the Pulp and Paper Industry
21.11 Concluding Remarks
References
21.1 INTRODUCTION
Several estimations have been made by various authors to assess global biomass
annually synthesized by autotrophic plant cells, sun, and water . 1,2 Frequently, yearly
biomasses are figured close to 170 to 200 ¥ 10 9 t, containing approximately 75%
carbohydrates (primarily glucose), 20% lignin, and 5% protein and lipids, besides
traces of terpenes, alkaloids, hormones, nucleic acids, enzymes, and chlorophyll,
tailor-made to support various functions of living cells. The corresponding energy
content for a 200 ¥ 10 9 t biomass is 100 ¥ 10 9 coal units, which is tenfold the annual
global energy consumption. The cited biomass nourishes ca. 6 billion people consuming
ca. 6 billion tonnes (bt) (3.5%), out of which only 300 mio (million) tonnes
are channeled to the industry. It is perhaps fair to assume that ca. 2 bt each are
provided as wood, cereals grown on arable land, and vegetables. Added to this, meat
is bred either in stables or by stock raising on pastures covering 4.5% of the globe
surface; arable land accounts for 4.8%. Fisheries provide only an insignificant
quantity of proteins compared with ca. 5 billion cattle and even more pigs and sheep
raised preferably on permanent grasslands.