Advanced biofuels are derived from lignocellulosic biomass, nonfood and crop feedstocks, agricultural and forest residues, and industrial waste.

First generation biofuels like corn-based ethanol are not a one-to-one replacement for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels, and lack the environmental potential of advanced biofuels. Ethanol, and other simple yet widely used biofuels, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 19-48% compared with gasoline. This is compared to advanced or cellulosic biofuels, which deliver at least a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and many of them deliver a reduction of 80%.