Downstream Processing of Biofuels

The rapid reduction in the availability of petroleum and the impact these related fuels have on the atmosphere have contributed to a growing use of biofuels. Biorefineries promise to transform biomass accurately into biofuels and bioproducts in the expedition for sustainable utilization of energy which is renewable. Separation and purification stage are also termed as downstream processing which is indeed quite critical for manufacturing high-quality biofuel. Separation and purification methods can also be categorized as equilibrium, affinity-dependent, membrane, solid-liquid, and reaction-driven separation processes depending on the complexity of their operation. This chapter discusses various ancient tactics, recent advances while linking and conflicting the diverse methods of downstream processing of first, second, and third generation of biofuels.