Integrating surfactants with low enzyme loading to increase the glucan conversion and ethanol concentration of reed after combined pretreatment

Abstract

In this study, in order to obtain high concentration bioethanol, reed pretreated with liquid hot water and ammonia oxygen (LHW-NH3·H2O/O2) was used as the substrate for fermentation. Enzymatic hydrolysis becomes difficult by the ineffective lignin adsorption and the decline in cellulase activity. It is worth noting that even under low enzyme loading (9 FPU/g pretreated solid), this study was able to maintain a higher glucan conversion rate (97.60%). In addition, under high solid loading conditions, the combined effect of PEG 6000 and rhamnolipids increased ethanol yield (78.40%) and ethanol concentration (71.5 g/L). The combined LHW-NH3·H2O/O2 pretreatment with fed-batch semi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation technique may be utilized to industrialize the production of bioethanol from reed since we concentrated on the maximum exploitation of biomass resources and reduction in energy consumption.