With the dwindling supplies of fossil fuels and growing concerns regarding climate changes due to green house gasses from these fuels, public opinion has swung dramatically towards favoring the development of renewable energy sources. In Biofuels: Methods and Protocols, career-long experts explore a full range of methods for bioenergy covering important topics such as biomass production and delivery to the biorefinery, detailed biochemical characterization, as well as biotechnological techniques for converting plant matter into fuels and chemicals. Time is of the essence in this field, and this volume aims to provide direction and assistance to the growing cadre of researchers endeavoring to develop new sources of bioenergy with a solid, easy-to-use collection of tried-and-true methods which will save time and effort in the field and the laboratory. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series format, chapters include brief introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary equipment, materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible field and laboratory protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding common pitfalls.
Timely and authoritative, Biofuels: Methods and Protocols seeks to help scientists and engineers as they develop and optimize bioenergy technologies needed to drastically change the course of our energy future as soon as possible.