Special Issue from the NSERC Bioconversion network workshop: pretreatment and fractionation of biomass for biorefinery/biofuels

World demand for energy and commodity chemicals continues to increase at a rapid pace in parallel with global industrialization and economic development. The current annual global energy demand of 13 billion tonnes of oil equivalent (btoe) is predicted to increase by 35% in 2035 [1]. The convenience, infrastructure investment and high energy content of liquid hydrocarbons makes them the preferred energy source for all modes of transportation and the dominant feedstock for the majority of today’s commodity chemicals. However, we face significant challenges with the continued use of oil, from concerns about carbon emissions contributing to climate change to ongoing depletion of finite oil reserves affecting the lifestyles of future generations. It is inevitable that we will have to evolve from a finite, hydrocarbon driven global industry to a more sustainable, carbohydrate based society. If managed sustainably, biomass will be the major, alternative, renewable, source of many of the chemicals and fuels that we currently derive from hydrocarbons such as coal, oil and natural gas [2]. The development of sugar/starch/plant oils derived biorefineries has already shown how a range of fuels and chemicals can be produced economically and sustainably. However, in order to make a complete transition from a ‘fossil fuel economy’ to a ‘bioeconomy’, the whole barrel of oil needs to be replaced by biomass-derived counterparts [3]. Many types of chemicals and conventional fuels such as gasoline, middle distillates and aviation fuels are used today. However, as described by several of the papers in this special pretreatment issue of the journal there are several promising biomass-derived equivalents, which can potentially substitute or replace most conventional fuels and chemicals. These biomass derived molecules should be identical to those produced