Evaluation of the Simultaneous Production of Xylitol and Ethanol from Sisal Fiber.

Franklin Damião Xavier,Líbia Sousa Conrado Oliveira,Gustavo Santos Bezerra,Sharline Florentino Melo Santos,Aleir Joice Oliveira Silva,Flávio Luiz Honorato Silva,Marta Maria Conceição

doi:10.3390/biom8010002

Franklin Damião Xavier, Líbia Sousa Conrado Oliveira + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/biom8010002

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Abstract

Recent years have seen an increase in the use of lignocellulosic materials in the development of bioproducts. Because sisal fiber is a low cost raw material and is readily available, this work aimed to evaluate its hemicellulose fraction for the simultaneous production of xylitol and ethanol. The sisal fiber presented a higher hemicellulose content than other frequently-employed biomasses, such as sugarcane bagasse. A pretreatment with dilute acid and low temperatures was conducted in order to obtain the hemicellulose fraction. The highest xylose contents (0.132 g·g−1 of sisal fiber) were obtained at 120 °C with 2.5% (v/v) of sulfuric acid. The yeast Candida tropicalis CCT 1516 was used in the fermentation. In the sisal fiber hemicellulose hydrolysate, the maximum production of xylitol (0.32 g·g−1) and of ethanol (0.27 g·g−1) was achieved in 60 h. Thus, sisal fiber presents as a potential biomass for the production of ethanol and xylitol, creating value with the use of hemicellulosic liquor without detoxification and without the additional steps of alkaline pretreatment.

Highlights

Recent years have seen a search for new energy sources, both to replace fossil fuels and to reduce the environmental impacts of their use
The acid pretreatment was conducted in order to obtain the hemicellulose fraction of the sisal
The study aimed to determine the concentration of dilute sulfuric acid and the temperature which were most efficient in extracting the xylose (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Recent years have seen a search for new energy sources, both to replace fossil fuels and to reduce the environmental impacts of their use. In this search, lignocellulosic materials have appeared to be an alternative in producing biofuels and high value-added derivatives. The lignocellulosic materials consist primarily of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin [2]. Cellulose can be used in different types of industries, such as the paper, pharmaceuticals, and textile industries. From the hemicellulose present in these materials, it is possible to obtain a hydrolysate rich in fermentable sugars, such as xylose, from which bioproducts such as ethanol and xylitol can be synthesized [3,4,5]

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