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Science 27 January 2006:
Vol. 311. no. 5760, pp. 484 - 489
DOI: 10.1126/science.1114736
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Review

The Path Forward for Biofuels and Biomaterials

Arthur J. Ragauskas,1* Charlotte K. Williams,4 Brian H. Davison,6 George Britovsek,4 John Cairney,2 Charles A. Eckert,3 William J. Frederick, Jr.,3 Jason P. Hallett,3 David J. Leak,5 Charles L. Liotta,1 Jonathan R. Mielenz,6 Richard Murphy,5 Richard Templer,4 Timothy Tschaplinski7

Biomass represents an abundant carbon-neutral renewable resource for the production of bioenergy and biomaterials, and its enhanced use would address several societal needs. Advances in genetics, biotechnology, process chemistry, and engineering are leading to a new manufacturing concept for converting renewable biomass to valuable fuels and products, generally referred to as the biorefinery. The integration of agroenergy crops and biorefinery manufacturing technologies offers the potential for the development of sustainable biopower and biomaterials that will lead to a new manufacturing paradigm.

1 School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
2 School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
3 School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
4 Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
5 Division of Biology, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
6 Life Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
7 Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: arthur.ragauskas{at}chemistry.gatech.edu

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