III . Commercial viability of second generation

The previous chapters focused on first generation biofuels. In this chapter we focus on second generation biofuels, specifically biofuels derived from cellulosic or lignocellulosic conversion. Advocates for the development of cellulosic conversion believe that second generation technology avoids many of the adverse consequences of first generation biofuels: it does not directly compete for food (since it is based on crops such as switchgrass or waste like maize stover), it causes less environmental impact than row crop agriculture, and the energy yield per hectare (ha) is generally higher (it has the potential to be five times higher than that of maize, since the entire plant can be converted to fuel).