State of art of valorising of diverse potential feedstocks for the production of alcohols and ethers: Current changes and perspectives

Alcohols could be the biggest factor for the improvement of world biofuel economy in the present century due to their excellent properties compared to petroleum products. The primary concerns of sustainable alcohol production for meeting the growing energy demand owing to the selection of viable feedstock and this might enhance the opportunities for developing numerous advanced techniques. In this review, the valorization of alcohol production from several production routes has been exposed by covering the traditional routes to the present state of the art technologies. Even though the fossil fuel conversion could be dominant method for methanol production, many recent innovations like photo electrochemical synthesis and electrolysis methods might play vital role in production of renewable methanol in future. There have been several production routes for production of ethanol and among which the fermentation of lignocellulose biomass would be the ultimate choice for large scale shoot up. The greenhouse gas recovery in the form of alcohols through electrochemistry technique and hydrogenation method are the important methods for commercialization of alcohols in future. It is also observed that algae based renewable bio-alcohols is highly influenced by carbohydrate content and sustainable approaches in algae conversion to bio-alcohols would bring greater demand in future market. There is a lack of innovation in higher alcohols production in single process and this could be bounded by combining dehydrogenation and decarboxylation techniques. Finally, this review enlists the opportunities and challenges of existing alcohols production and recommended the possible routes for making significant enhancement in production.

Automated summary

Alcohols could be a major factor in improving the global biofuel economy in the present century, with sustainable production focusing on viable feedstock selection to meet the growing energy demand and enhance the development of advanced techniques. Various production routes for alcohols, including traditional methods and state-of-the-art technologies, offer opportunities for innovation in methanol and ethanol production, as well as the commercialization of alcohols through methods like electrochemistry and hydrogenation. Algae-based bio-alcohols show potential for future market demand, but innovations may be needed to optimize production processes.