BookGuanqun Chen, Randall J. Weselake, Stacy D. Singer, editors.
Summary: Among the major challenges facing society today, seeking renewable alternatives to petroleum-based fuels and manufactured goods is critically important to reducing society's dependency on petroleum and tackling environmental issues associated with petroleum use. In recent years there has been considerable research targeted toward the development of plant-derived bioproducts to replace petrochemical feedstocks for both fuel and manufacturing. Plants not only provide a large amount of renewable biomass, but their biochemical diversity also offers many chemical and molecular tools for the production of new products through biotechnology. Plant Bioproducts is an introduction to the production and application of plant bioproducts, including biofuels, bioplastics, and biochemicals for the manufacturing sector. Contributing authors examine various bioproducts with respect to their basic chemistry, relationship to current petrochemical-based products, and strategies for their production in plants. Chapters cover the integrated roles of agronomy, plant breeding, biotechnology, and biorefining in the context of bioproduct development. Environmental, economic, ethical, and social issues surrounding bioproducts, including the use of genetically modified crops, challenges to food security, and consumer acceptance, are also covered.
Contents:
Intro; Preface; Contents; Contributors; Editor Biographies;
Chapter 1: Building a Case forPlant Bioproducts; 1.1 Introduction; 1.2 Towards Closing the Carbon Cycle; 1.3 Why Plant Bioproducts?; 1.4 Closing Comments; References;
Chapter 2: Introduction to Plant Biomolecules and Cellular Metabolism; 2.1 Introduction; 2.2 Atoms and Molecules; 2.3 Lipids; 2.4 Carbohydrates; 2.5 Amino Acids and Proteins; 2.6 Biochemical Reactions Are Catalyzed by Enzymes; 2.7 Elementary Plant Metabolism; 2.8 Structural Diversity as a Major Advantage for Bioproducts; References 4.7 Improving Biodiesel ThroughModification ofPlant Storage Lipid Biosynthesis4.7.1 Seed Oil Biosynthesis; 4.7.2 Strategies forAltering Plant Fatty Acid Composition forImproved Biodiesel Quality; 4.7.3 Strategies forEnhancing Seed Oil Content toIncrease Supplies ofBiodiesel Feedstocks; 4.8 Applications forBy-Products ofBiodiesel Production: Maximizing theValue ofBiodiesel Feedstocks; 4.9 Closing Comments; References;
Chapter 5: Production ofOther Bioproducts fromPlant Oils; 5.1 Introduction; 5.2 Industrial Feedstocks; 5.2.1 Fatty Acids; 5.2.1.1 Medium-Chain Saturated Fatty Acids 5.2.1.2 Monounsaturated Fatty Acids5.2.1.3 Unusual Fatty Acids; 5.2.2 Plant-Derived Wax Esters; 5.2.3 Lipid-Derived Polymers; 5.2.3.1 Bioplastics; 5.2.3.2 Natural Rubber; 5.3 Production of Bioactive Oils in Plants; 5.3.1 Very Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids; 5.3.2 Conjugated Linolenic Acids; 5.4 Challenges Associated with the Metabolic Engineering of Lipid Composition in Plants; 5.4.1 Preference of Kennedy Pathway Acyltransferases for Particular Substrates; 5.4.2 The Importance of Acyl Transfer from Phosphatidylcholine to Triacylglycerol in Fatty Acid Composition; 5.5 Closing Comments
Chapter 3: An Integrated Approach to Plant Bioproduct Production 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 Plant Breeding and Agronomy; 3.3 Plant Biotechnology, Genomics, and Modern Plant Breeding; 3.4 The Biorefinery; 3.5 Bioproduct Development and the Social Sciences; References;
Chapter 4: Production of Biodiesel from Plant Oils; 4.1 Introduction; 4.2 What Is Biodiesel?; 4.3 Other Types of Fuel Produced from Plant Oils; 4.4 Advantages and Challenges of Biodiesel Versus Petroleum-Derived Diesel; 4.5 Structure/Function Relationships Influencing Biodiesel Performance; 4.6 Sources of Plant-Derived Biodiesel