Exploring Prosopis juliflora as a Sustainable Biomass Source for Bioethanol: A Review of Processing Methods and Production Potential

Abstract

As the 20th century progressed, the accelerated growth of industry and the consistent increase in population size in major urban areas contributed to an escalating release of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2). Fuels derived from renewable materials, such as plant biomass, offer an alternative to traditional fuels, providing a more environmentally friendly energy source. A highly relevant alternative would be to align the development of sustainable technologies with the bioprocessing of biomass waste from non-food sources. The tree Prosopis juliflora (P. juliflora) is a promising candidate due to its accessibility and energetic properties. The success of P. juliflora biofuel hinges on pretreatment techniques that maximize enzymatic accessibility to cellulose. This study systematically reviews the extant research on P. juliflora as bioethanol feedstock, with a focus on identifying which plant parts are used, the treatments applied to these parts, and the methods employed for biomass breakdown. The research methodology entailed a bibliometric analysis, which was conducted using the Web of Science database between July 25, 2025, and August 5, 2025. The Vosviewer® software was utilized for the analysis of keyword co-occurrence and author co-citation. The search yielded 29 publications and 32 keywords, with a minimum of three occurrences in the analyzed articles. Of these, 20 publications met the study's scope. The findings of the study demonstrate that chemical pretreatment provides the optimal balance between delignification and cellulose preservation. Acid degradation is still preferred over enzymatic hydrolysis, as it is the approach used in most of the studies that were analyzed. While there are studies that have applied P. juliflora in the production of bioethanol using these strategies, the development of more sustainable research and methodologies is still necessary to obtain biofuel in an effective and ecological way.