A techno-economic review of thermochemical cellulosic biofuel pathways

Recent advances in the thermochemical processing of biomass have resulted in efforts to commercialize several cellulosic biofuel pathways. Until commercial-scale production is achieved, however, techno-economic analysis is a useful methodology for quantifying the economic competitiveness of these pathways with petroleum, providing one indication of their long-term feasibility under the U.S. revised Renewable Fuel Standard. This review paper covers techno-economic analyses of thermochemical cellulosic biofuel pathways in the open literature, discusses and compares their results, and recommends the adoption of additional analytical methodologies that will increase the value of future pathway analyses.