Title:
Investigation of the Potential Suitability of the Enzymes Produced by the Fungus Thermoascus Aurantiacus for the Pretreatment of Lignocellulose for Bioethanol Production
Author(s):
Boyce, A., Walsh, G.
Document(s):
Paper
Abstract:
Second¬ generation biofuels, produced from lignocellulosic biomass, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions without competing with food production. The conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks to bioethanol can be undertaken by enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated lignocellulosic material with subsequent fermentation of the resulting sugars to ethanol. Pre¬treatment is commonly undertaken by dilute¬ acid pretreatment involving treatment of the lignocellulosic material with acid (0.1¬5%) at temperatures of 140¬220°C. This study focuses on the potential application of enzymes in this pre¬treatment step with the aim of decreasing the acid concentration and temperature required and thereby reducing the severity of the process. Likely advantages of an enzymatic¬ dilute acid pretreatment approach include reduced production of degradation products, reduced energy and acid requirements and reduced requirements for neutralisation prior to the hydrolysis step. During growth on wheat bran media, the fungus Thermoascus aurantiacus produces cellulase, xylanase and other lignocellulose ¬degrading enzymes. Incubation of this crude enzyme mixture with straw in 0.1% (w/v) H2SO4 at 70 °C for 3 hours resulted in the release of approximately four times the amount of reducing sugars relative to that released by acid only. This indicates that the crude enzymes produced by this strain are capable of hydrolysing straw at high temperature in the presence of acid and are of potential interest for the development of an enzymatic/dilute¬ acid pretreatment method.
Keywords:
bioethanol, pretreatment, enzymatic process
Topic:
R&D on Processes for Solid, Liquid and Gaseous Fuels from Biomass
Subtopic:
Bioethanol production and sugar release from lignocellulosic
Event:
20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
3DV.1.23
Pages:
1658 - 1661
ISBN:
978-88-89407-54-7
Paper DOI:
10.5071/20thEUBCE2012-3DV.1.23
Price:
FREE
