Optimization of Bioethanol Production from Enzymatic Treatment of Argan Pulp Feedstock.

Jihane Zeghlouli,Abdeljalil Belkamel,Philippe Michaud,Cherkaoui El Modafar,Cédric Delattre,Amine Guendouz,Gwendoline Christophe

doi:10.3390/molecules26092516

Abstract

Argan pulp is an abundant byproduct from the argan oil process. It was investigated to study the feasibility of second-generation bioethanol production using, for the first time, enzymatic hydrolysis pretreatment. Argan pulp was subjected to an industrial grinding process before enzymatic hydrolysis using Viscozyme L and Celluclast 1.5 L, followed by fermentation of the resulting sugar solution by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The argan pulp, as a biomass rich on carbohydrates, presented high saccharification yields (up to 91% and 88%) and an optimal ethanol bioconversion of 44.82% and 47.16% using 30 FBGU/g and 30 U/g of Viscozyme L and Celluclast 1.5 L, respectively, at 10%w/v of argan biomass.

Highlights

By 2030, international energy demands are envisaged to increase by 53% [1]
Several studies have been performed on the fruit of argan trees and argan oil composition [25,26,27,28,29], not much information is available on the chemical composition of the pulp
The results reported for argan pulp hydrolysis and fermentation are the mean values of three for each experiment under the same conditions

Summary

Introduction

By 2030, international energy demands are envisaged to increase by 53% [1]. Nowadays, fossil fuels are the world’s primary energy source with an estimated share of total final energy consumption of 79.9% [2]. Growing environmental concerns and current energy demands have urged the scientific community, governments, and companies to search for alternative energy sources to reduce dependence on petroleum and fight against climate change [3] For these reasons, there is a rising interest in biofuels, in particular second-generation biofuels [4,5,6]. Lignocellulosic is a potential candidate feedstock for the production of second-generation (2 G) bioethanol It comprises different types of biomass, including all kinds of agricultural residues (e.g., wheat straw, corn stover, and sugarcane bagasse), energy crops (perennial grasses), and forest materials (principally woody materials), and it is preferred as it is perceived as non-competitive with agri-food [10]. It allows for low-cost biofuel production because the price of this biomass is estimated as being the lowest compared to starch, which is presently used to produce bioethanol [12]

Methods

Results

Conclusion