In recent years carbon dioxide has played an increasingly important role in biomass processing. This book presents the state-of-the-art of a range of diverse approaches for the use of carbon dioxide in biomass valorisation.

The book explores cutting-edge research and important advances in green high-pressure technologies. It gives an overview of the most relevant and promising applications of high-pressure CO2-based technologies in biomass processing from the perspective of the biorefinery concept.

Demonstrating the interdisciplinary aspects of high-pressure technologies from biology, chemistry and biochemical engineering areas, this book brings researchers and industrialists up to date with the latest advances in this field, including novel technologies for energy; biochemicals and materials production; and green chemical engineering processes.

Rafal Lukasik is Research Associate at Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, I.P. (LNEG), Unit of Bioenergy, Portugal, where he leads a group focused on the green biorefinery concept. His principal scientific interests are in sustainable chemistry, extraction and separation with CO2, biomass processing with green solvents (carbon dioxide, ionic liquids), biorefinery, process design and optimization.

Supercritical Fluids in Natural Product and Biomass Processing - An Introduction; Introduction to High Pressure CO2 and H2O Technologies in Sustainable Biomass Processing; Pre-treatment of Biomass Using CO2-based Methods; Enzyme-based Biomass Catalyzed Reactions in Supercritical CO2; Direct Hydrolysis of Biomass Polymers using High-pressure CO2 and CO2-H2O Mixtures; Processing of Lignocellulosic Biomass Derived Monomers using High-pressure CO2 and CO2-H2O Mixtures; Efficient Transformation of Biomass-derived Compounds into Different Valuable Products: A "Green" Approach; Anti-solvent Effect of High-pressure CO2 in Natural Polymers; Perspectives of the Development of High-pressure Technologies in Biomass Process