Book excerpt: Biotechnology for Biofuel Production and Optimization is the compilation of current research findings that cover the entire process of biofuels production from manipulation of genes and pathways to organisms and renewable feedstocks for efficient biofuel production as well as different cultivation techniques and process scale-up considerations. This book captures recent breakthroughs in the interdisciplinary areas of systems and synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and bioprocess engineering for renewable, cleaner sources of energy. - Describes state-of-the-art engineering of metabolic pathways for the production of a variety of fuel molecules - Discusses recent advances in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering for rational design, construction, evaluation of novel pathways and cell chassis - Covers genome engineering technologies to address complex biofuel-tolerant phenotypes for enhanced biofuel production in engineered chassis - Presents the use of novel microorganisms and expanded substrate utilization strategies for production of targeted fuel molecules - Explores biohybrid methods for harvesting bioenergy - Discusses bioreactor design and optimization of scale-up