Review of \u3ci\u3eGasoline, Diesel, and Ethanol Biofuels from Grasses and Plants. \u3c/i\u3eBy Ram B. Gupta and Ayhan Demirbas.

A new book on the production of biofuels by Gupta and Demirbas provides technical insight into the conversion processes that could provide a range of domestic fuels from plant materials to substitute for foreign oil. It focuses primarily on conversion processes for production of cellulosic ethanol, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, pyrolysis bio-oil, and hydrothermal biocrude from biomass resources, as well as first-generation grain ethanol and biodiesel from vegetable oil. In addition to a detailed summary of these chemical processes, the book provides a briefer treatment of related matters such as biofuel policy, economics, and environmental issues. The book does discuss the limitations to many aspects of the conversion processes, but does not strive to identify the main constraints for developing the biofuel industry, nor does it sufficiently emphasize these problems