Optimization Studies in Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation of Wheat Bran Flour into Ethanol

Abstract

The effects of process variables in Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF) of wheat bran flour were studied in bulk fermentation using a coculture of Aspergillus niger - Kluveromyces marxianus. The effect of substrate density, pH, temperature, and enzyme concentration on wheat bran was predicted by designing experiments in which a single parameter is varied keeping other variables at a constant level. The above parameters were optimized for a batch culture in a fermentor. Optimal values for substrate concentration, pH, temperature, and enzyme concentration during processing were 200 g/l, 5.5, 65°C, and 7.5 IU, respectively. In pre-treatment experiments, the concentration of enzymes and the pre-treatment temperature are highly correlated. The influence of pH, temperature, and substrate density on ethanol production was investigated. Temperature pH was determined as optimal, 32°C and 5.5, respectively. After 48 hours of fermentation at optimum pH, a solution of wheat bran containing a maximum of 6% starch produces a maximum of 22.9 g/l ethanol.