Advances in the Application of Spectroscopic Techniques in the Biofuel Area over the Last Few Decades

Guided by the instability of the oil market, as well as limited availability of and, especially, the environmental impacts of fossil fuels, the needs of the market for environmental-friendly energy sources have increased. However, as with any other product that is intended to place on the market, it is essential to ensure the quality of the fuel for successful marketing and acceptance by consumers. Spectroscopic techniques have been widely used for different purposes in the literature for the past decades, from biological applications to the measurement of the elemental composition of planets. From studies focused on biodiesel, bioethanol, biomass and biofuel in general, different spectroscopic techniques have also been applied in the area. The focus of this chapter is to elucidate what has been published in the last few decades over the subject, detailing the basic concepts of the main spectroscopic techniques applied and showing the results and developments over biofuel. The aim of the chapter is to achieve a set of information that can be used as a bigger compile of information of the state of the art regarding the theme