Year : 2019, Volume : 10, Issue : 1
First page : ( 1) Last page : ( 6)
Print ISSN : 0976-3015. Online ISSN : 0976-4763.

Bioethanol Production from Biomass of Saccharum Spontaneum

Gupta Priti^1,*

¹PhD. Scholar, Division of Genetics, IARI, New Delhi

*E-mail ID: pritigupta.du@gmail.com

Abstract

Sustainable development is the underpinning principle in the panacea for almost every environmental concern. Generation of energy from the biomass can solve the purpose of environmentalists. Bioethanol and biodiesel that comprises biofuel is one such form of green energy. The major drivers for bioethanol production in India are energy security, slower potential for global warming and converting waste to energy. For Bioethanol lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant renewable resource that can serve as substrate for its production. Bioethanol may be produced by three different modes – synthetically, direct fermentation of sugars (I^st generation fuels) and from other carbohydrates that can be converted to fermentable sugars (II^nd generation fuels). Synthetically, ethanol can be produced by hydration of ethylene either directly in one step or indirectly in three steps. Fermentation of sugars to ethanol is a very old and well – known process, which has great industrial importance. This process is still the subject of much research and development in research institutes with the aim of getting higher product and lower by? – product yields. The present work deals with the fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass (Saccharum spontaneum) to ethanol by Pichia stipitis. This process comprises of four steps viz. pretreatment of substrate, hydrolysis, detoxification and eventually fermentation to produce Bioethanol. Hydrolysates are produced by either chemical or enzymatic methods with recovery rate of 60% in chemical method and 88% in enzymatic method. Chemical hydrolysis in turn can avail various physical, chemical and biological pretreatment methods for easy hydrolysis. Hydrolysates are nasty solutions that microorganisms are not necessarily pleased to stay with; hence required detoxification by employing various procedures like direct neutralization, activated charcoal, overliming or enzymatic detoxification. This detoxified hydrolysate of Saccharum spontaneum is then subjected to fermentation by Pichia stipitis for the production of ethanol.

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Keywords

Bioethanol, Pichia stipitis, Production technology, Saccharum spontaneum.

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