Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation of Lignocellulosic Biomass

Abstract

In recent years, with the growing concerns over the depletion of natural resources and food security, researchers are focusing on abundantly available non-food crops such as lignocellulosic biomass as alternative reserves for bioenergy. Since lignocellulosic biomass are a rich source of carbohydrates they can be used to produce various biological products through different fermentation strategies such as separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF), simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) along with consolidated bioprocessing (CBP). Among these, SSF has increased popularity for its cost-effectiveness and high product yield. The major advantages of SSF over SHF are the reduction in end product inhibition during saccharification, use of a single reactor for its operation and utilization of various lignocellulosic substrates under different pretreatment conditions that result in high product yield in short incubation time. However, certain drawbacks exist in SSF such as negotiation with the process parameters mainly temperature and pH; inability to utilize pentoses and low ethanol tolerance of fermenting strains. To overcome these limitations the authors are trying to emphasize a consolidated bioprocessing approach for utilization of pentoses and hexoses for improved bioenergy and other value-added product generation.