Ethanol fermentation in an immobilized cell reactor using Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Fermentation of sugar by Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for production of ethanol in an immobilized cell reactor (ICR) was successfully carried out to improve the performance of the fermentation process. The fermentation set-up was comprised of a column packed with beads of immobilized cells. The immobilization of S. cerevisiae was simply performed by the enriched cells cultured media harvested at exponential growth phase. The fixed cell loaded ICR was carried out at initial stage of operation and the cell was entrapped by calcium alginate. The production of ethanol was steady after 24 h of operation. The concentration of ethanol was affected by the media flow rates and residence time distribution from 2 to 7 h. In addition, batch fermentation was carried out with 50 g/l glucose concentration. Subsequently, the ethanol productions and the reactor productivities of batch fermentation and immobilized cells were compared. In batch fermentation, sugar consumption and ethanol production obtained were 99.6% and 12.5% v/v after 27 h while in the ICR, 88.2% and 16.7% v/v were obtained with 6 h retention time. Nearly 5% ethanol production was achieved with high glucose concentration (150 g/l) at 6 h retention time. A yield of 38% was obtained with 150 g/l glucose. The yield was improved approximately 27% on ICR and a 24 h fermentation time was reduced to 7 h. The cell growth rate was based on the Monod rate equation. The kinetic constants (K(s) and mu(m)) of batch fermentation were 2.3 g/l and 0.35 g/lh, respectively. The maximum yield of biomass on substrate (Y(X-S)) and the maximum yield of product on substrate (Y(P-S)) in batch fermentations were 50.8% and 31.2% respectively. Productivity of the ICR were 1.3, 2.3, and 2.8 g/lh for 25, 35, 50 g/l of glucose concentration, respectively. The productivity of ethanol in batch fermentation with 50 g/l glucose was calculated as 0.29 g/lh. Maximum production of ethanol in ICR when compared to batch reactor has shown to increase approximately 10-fold. The performance of the two reactors was compared and a respective rate model was proposed. The present research has shown that high sugar concentration (150 g/l) in the ICR column was successfully converted to ethanol. The achieved results in ICR with high substrate concentration are promising for scale up operation. The proposed model can be used to design a lager scale ICR column for production of high ethanol concentration.     

The enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of pretreated wheat straw to ethanol

Autohydrolysis and ethanol-alkali pulping were used as pretreatment methods of wheat straw for its subsequent saccharification by Trichoderma reesei cellulase. The basic hydrolysis parameters, i.e., reaction time, pH, temperature, and enzyme and substrate concentration, were optimized to maximize sugar yields from ethanol-alkali modified straw. Thus, a 93% conversion of 2.5% straw material to sugar syrup containing 73% glucose was reached in 48 h using 40 filter paper units/g hydrolyzed substrate. The pretreated wheat straw was then fermented to ethanol at 43 degrees C in the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process using T. reesei cellulase and Kluyveromyces fragilis cells. From 10% (w/v) of chemically treated straw (dry matter), 2.4% (w/v) ethanol was obtained after 48 h. When the T. reesei cellulase system was supplemented with beta-glucosidase from Aspergillus niger, the ethanol yield in the SSF process increased to 3% (w/v) and the reaction time was shortened to 24 h.     

Bactericidal activity of ethanol against glucose nonfermentative Gram-negative bacilli

The bactericidal effect of ethanol on glucose nonfermentative Gram-negative bacilli (nonfermentative bacilli) and other species of micro-organisms was studied with emphasis on the former. At 20 degrees C, 10 to 20% v/v ethanol took 1 h or more to kill thirteen strains of nonfermentative bacilli while 40 to 99.5% concentrations produced a bactericidal effect within 1 min of exposure. Eleven strains of glucose fermentative organisms showed a similar tendency to that noted with nonfermentative bacilli, except that S. aureus was a little resistant to 99.5% ethanol. Using several strains of nonfermentative bacilli, the effects of temperature and equine serum on the bactericidal action of ethanol were determined. The bactericidal action of ethanol increased with rising of temperature (10-30 degrees C), and it was sufficient even at 10 degrees C provided that the concentration of ethanol was over 50%. The equine serum produced little effect on the bactericidal action of ethanol.     

Ethanol production by Zymomonas mobilis in fed-batch fermentations

The production of ethanol by Zymomonas mobilis NRRL B-4286 was studied in fed-batch cultures. Initial percent (w/v) glucose, rate of feed, and quantity of 50%; (w/v) glucose feed were varied. Glucose inhibition of growth rate occurred at concentrations greater than 8% (w/) Feed was begun after 4 h incubation. Feed volume was ca. 36%; of starting batch volume to get ca. 10%; (w/v) ethanol at harvest. The range of feed rates studied varied from 16%; batch volume/h (glucose concentration increased to an inhibitory level) to 4%; batch volume/h (glucose concentration dropped rapidly to zero and was limiting). Increasing feed volume to 46%; of starting volume at the best feed rate (ca. 10%; feed volume/h) increased final ethanol concentration to 11.3%; (w/v). However, the resultant increase in fermentation time from ca. 21 to 29 h decreased ethanol volumetric productivity from 5.2 to 4.6 g/L h.     

亚硫酸盐甘蔗渣浆酶解液发酵制备乙醇

以亚硫酸盐甘蔗渣浆酶解液作为原料,利用C. shehatae发酵制取燃料乙醇。结果表明：还原糖最适初始质量浓度为葡萄糖140 g/L、木糖60 g/L、酶解液总糖80 g/L。利用初始葡萄糖55.06 g/L、木糖11.18 g/L、纤维二糖4.51 g/L的亚硫酸盐甘蔗渣浆酶解液发酵,经18 h获得乙醇22.98 g/L。乙醇得率为67.23%,葡萄糖利用率为99.27%,木糖利用率为32.96%,C. shehatae适合作为蔗渣为原料的乙醇发酵菌株。     

High consistency enzymatic hydrolysis of hardwood substrates

The feasibility of using a laboratory peg mixer to carry out high consistency enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic substrates was investigated. Two hardwood substrates, unbleached hardwood pulp (UBHW) and organosolv pretreated poplar (OPP), were used in this study. Hydrolysis of UBHW and OPP at 20% substrate consistency led to a high glucose concentration in the final hydrolysate. For example, a 48 h enzymatic hydrolysis of OPP resulted in a hydrolysate with 158 g/L of glucose. This is the highest glucose concentration ever obtained from enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic substrates. Fermentation of UBHW and OPP hydrolysates with high glucose content led to high ethanol concentrations, 50.4 and 63.1 g/L, respectively after fermentation. Our results demonstrate that using common pulping equipment to carry out high consistency hydrolysis can overcome the rheological problems and greatly increase the sugar and ethanol concentrations after the hydrolysis and fermentation.     

Optimization of pretreatment and saccharification for the production of bioethanol from water hyacinth by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Alkaline-oxidative (A/O) pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification were optimized for bioethanol fermentation from water hyacinth by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Water hyacinth was subjected to A/O pretreatment at various NaOH and H(2)O(2) concentrations and reaction temperatures for the optimization of bioethanol fermentation by S. cerevisiae. The most effective condition for A/O pretreatment was 7% (w/v) NaOH at 100 °C and 2% (w/v) H(2)O(2). The carbohydrate content was analyzed after reaction at various enzyme concentrations and enzyme ratios using Celluclast 1.5 L and Viscozyme L to determine the effective conditions for enzymatic saccharification. After ethanol fermentation using S. cerevisiae KCTC 7928, the concentration of glucose, ethanol and glycerol was analyzed by HPLC using a RI detector. The yield of ethanol in batch fermentation was 0.35 g ethanol/g biomass. Continuous fermentation was carried out at a dilution rate of 0.11 (per h) and the ethanol productivity was 0.77 [g/(l h)].     

Production of ethanol and xylitol from corn cobs by yeasts

Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida tropicalis were used separately and as co-culture for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of 5-20% (w/v) dry corn cobs. A maximal ethanol concentration of 27, 23, 21 g/l (w/v) from 200 g/l (w/v) dry corn cobs was obtained by S. cerevisiae, C. tropicalis and the co-culture, respectively, after 96 h of fermentation. However, theoretical yields of 82%, 71% and 63% were observed from 50 g/l dry corn cobs for the above cultures, respectively. Maximal xylitol concentration of 21, 20 and 15 g/l from 200 g/l (w/v) dry corn cobs was obtained by C. tropicalis, co-culture, and S. cerevisiae, respectively. Maximum theoretical yields of 79.0%, 77.0% and 58% were observed from 50 g/l of corn cobs, respectively. The volumetric productivities for ethanol and xylitol increased with the increase in substrate concentration, whereas, yield decreased. Glycerol and acetic acid were formed as minor by-products. S. cerevisiae and C. tropicalis resulted in better product yields (0.42 and 0.36 g/g) for ethanol and (0.52 and 0.71 g/g) for xylitol, respectively, whereas, the co-culture showed moderate level of ethanol (0.32 g/g) and almost maximal levels of xylitol (0.69 g/g).     

沙柳原料高浓度底物酶解发酵乙醇工艺

为了提高沙柳生物转化过程的经济可行性,考察了沙柳原料经过蒸爆、超微粉碎+稀酸、超微粉碎+稀碱预处理后高浓度底物补料酶解的效果,并对其高浓度水解糖液进行了乙醇发酵。结果表明:蒸爆处理法水解效果最好,通过补料酶解,底物质量分数可以达到30%,酶解液中总糖质量浓度达到132 g/L,葡萄糖质量浓度105 g/L;超微粉碎+稀酸预处理原料底物质量分数可以达到22%,酶解液中总糖质量浓度达到123 g/L,葡萄糖质量浓度73 g/L;超微粉碎+稀碱预处理原料底物质量分数可以达到22%,酶解液中总糖质量浓度133 g/L,葡萄糖质量浓度77 g/L。3种预处理使沙柳原料的酶解糖液都可以较好地被酿酒酵母利用发酵产乙醇,蒸爆处理原料的酶解糖液乙醇发酵效果最好,乙醇质量浓度达到47 g/L。     

Liquefaction of lignocellulose at high-solids concentrations

To improve process economics of the lignocellulose to ethanol process a reactor system for enzymatic liquefaction and saccharification at high-solids concentrations was developed. The technology is based on free fall mixing employing a horizontally placed drum with a horizontal rotating shaft mounted with paddlers for mixing. Enzymatic liquefaction and saccharification of pretreated wheat straw was tested with up to 40% (w/w) initial DM. In less than 10 h, the structure of the material was changed from intact straw particles (length 1-5 cm) into a paste/liquid that could be pumped. Tests revealed no significant effect of mixing speed in the range 3.3-11.5 rpm on the glucose conversion after 24 h and ethanol yield after subsequent fermentation for 48 h. Low-power inputs for mixing are therefore possible. Liquefaction and saccharification for 96 h using an enzyme loading of 7 FPU/g.DM and 40% DM resulted in a glucose concentration of 86 g/kg. Experiments conducted at 2%-40% (w/w) initial DM revealed that cellulose and hemicellulose conversion decreased almost linearly with increasing DM. Performing the experiments as simultaneous saccharification and fermentation also revealed a decrease in ethanol yield at increasing initial DM. Saccharomyces cerevisiae was capable of fermenting hydrolysates up to 40% DM. The highest ethanol concentration, 48 g/kg, was obtained using 35% (w/w) DM. Liquefaction of biomass with this reactor system unlocks the possibility of 10% (w/w) ethanol in the fermentation broth in future lignocellulose to ethanol plants.     

Fermentation of Detoxified Acid-Hydrolyzed Pyrolytic Anhydrosugars into Bioethanol with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis> 2.399

Pyrolysate obtained from the pyrolysis of waste cotton is a source of fermentable sugars that could be fermented into bioethanol fuel and other chemicals via microbial fermentation. However, pyrolysate is a complex mixture of fermentable and non-fermentable substrates causing inhibition of the microbial growth. The aim of this study was to detoxify the hydrolysate and then ferment it into bio-ethanol fuel in shake flasks and fermenter applying yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae 2.399. Pyrolysate was hydrolyzed to glucose with 0.2 M sulfuric acid, neutralized with Ba(OH)₂ followed by treatment with ethyl acetate and activated carbon to remove fermentation inhibitors. The effect of various fermentation parameters such as inoculum concentration, pH and hydrolysate glucose was evaluated in shake flasks for optimum ethanol fermentation. With respect to inoculum concentration, 20% v/v inoculum i.e. 8.0 × 10⁸–1.2 × 10⁹ cells/mL was the optimum level for producing 8.62 ± 0.33 g/L ethanol at 9 h of fermentation with a maximum yield of 0.46 g ethanol/g glucose. The optimum pH for hydrolysate glucose fermentation was found to be 6.0 that produced 8.57 ± 0.66 g/L ethanol. Maximum ethanol concentration, 14.78 g/L was obtained for 4% hydrolysate glucose concentration after 16 h of fermentation. Scale-up studies in stirred fermenter produced much higher productivity (1.32 g/L/h^–1) compared to shake flask fermentation (0.92 g/L/h^–1). The yield of ethanol reached a maximum of 91% and 89% of the theoretical yield of ethanol in shake flasks and fermenter, respectively. The complex of integrated models of development was applied, that has been successfully tested previously for the mathematical analysis of the fermentation processes.     

Separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) of Prosopis juliflora, a woody substrate, for the production of cellulosic ethanol by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia stipitis-NCIM 3498

Prosopis juliflora (Mesquite) is a raw material for long-term sustainable production of cellulosics ethanol. In this study, we used acid pretreatment, delignification and enzymatic hydrolysis to evaluate the pretreatment to produce more sugar, to be fermented to ethanol. Dilute H(2)SO(4) (3.0%,v/v) treatment resulted in hydrolysis of hemicelluloses from lignocellulosic complex to pentose sugars along with other byproducts such as furfural, hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF), phenolics and acetic acid. The acid pretreated substrate was delignified to the extent of 93.2% by the combined action of sodium sulphite (5.0%,w/v) and sodium chlorite (3.0%,w/v). The remaining cellulosic residue was enzymatically hydrolyzed in 0.05 M citrate phosphate buffer (pH 5.0) using 3.0 U of filter paper cellulase (FPase) and 9.0 U of beta-glucosidase per mL of citrate phosphate buffer. The maximum enzymatic saccharification of cellulosic material (82.8%) was achieved after 28 h incubation at 50 degrees C. The fermentation of both acid and enzymatic hydrolysates, containing 18.24 g/L and 37.47 g/L sugars, with Pichia stipitis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae produced 7.13 g/L and 18.52 g/L of ethanol with corresponding yield of 0.39 g/g and 0.49 g/g, respectively.     

Ethanol fermentation of raw cassava starch with Rhizopus koji in a gas circulation type fermentor

Studies have been conducted in a gas circulation type fermentor in order to characterize the ethanol fermentation of uncooked cassava starch with Rhizopus koji. Results showed that ethanol concentration reached 13-14% (v/v) in 4-day broth, and the maximum productivity of ethanol was 2.3 g ethanol/L broth h. This productivity was about 50% compared to the productivity of a glucose-yeast system. Ethanol yield reached 83.5-72.3% of the theoretical yield for the cassava starch used. The fermentor used in the present work has been proven by experiment to be suitable for ethanol fermentation of the broth with solid substrate.     

Dilute acid pretreatment, enzymatic saccharification, and fermentation of rice hulls to ethanol

Rice hulls, a complex lignocellulosic material with high lignin (15.38 +/- 0.2%) and ash (18.71 +/- 0.01%) content, contain 35.62 +/- 0.12% cellulose and 11.96 +/- 0.73% hemicellulose and has the potential to serve as a low-cost feedstock for production of ethanol. Dilute H2SO4 pretreatments at varied temperature (120-190 degrees C) and enzymatic saccharification (45 degrees C, pH 5.0) were evaluated for conversion of rice hull cellulose and hemicellulose to monomeric sugars. The maximum yield of monomeric sugars from rice hulls (15%, w/v) by dilute H2SO4 (1.0%, v/v) pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification (45 degrees C, pH 5.0, 72 h) using cellulase, beta-glucosidase, xylanase, esterase, and Tween 20 was 287 +/- 3 mg/g (60% yield based on total carbohydrate content). Under this condition, no furfural and hydroxymethyl furfural were produced. The yield of ethanol per L by the mixed sugar utilizing recombinant Escherichia colistrain FBR 5 from rice hull hydrolyzate containing 43.6 +/- 3.0 g fermentable sugars (glucose, 18.2 +/- 1.4 g; xylose, 21.4 +/- 1.1 g; arabinose, 2.4 +/- 0.3 g; galactose, 1.6 +/- 0.2 g) was 18.7 +/- 0.6 g (0.43 +/- 0.02 g/g sugars obtained; 0.13 +/- 0.01 g/g rice hulls) at pH 6.5 and 35 degrees C. Detoxification of the acid- and enzyme-treated rice hull hydrolyzate by overliming (pH 10.5, 90 degrees C, 30 min) reduced the time required for maximum ethanol production (17 +/- 0.2 g from 42.0 +/- 0.7 g sugars per L) by the E. coli strain from 64 to 39 h in the case of separate hydrolysis and fermentation and increased the maximum ethanol yield (per L) from 7.1 +/- 2.3 g in 140 h to 9.1 +/- 0.7 g in 112 h in the case of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation.     

Production of ethanol from guava pulp by yeast strains

Guava pulp used for ethanol production by three yeast strains contained 10% (w/v) total sugars and was pH 4.1. Ethanol production at the optimum sugar concentration of 10%, at pH 4.1 and 30°C was 1.5%, 3.6% and 3.9% (w/v) by Saccharomyces cerevisiae MTCC 1972, Isolate-1 and Isolate-2, respectively, at 60 h fermentation. Higher sugar concentrations at 15 and 20% were inhibitory for ethanol production by all test cultures. The maximum production of ethanol at optimum natural sugar concentration (10%) of guava pulp, was 5.8% (w/v) at pH 5.0 by Isolate-2 over 36 h fermentation, which was only slightly more than the quantity of ethanol produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae (5.0%) and Isolate-1 (5.3%) over 36 and 60h fermentation, respectively.     

稀碱预处理棕榈残渣制备纤维乙醇

以棕榈残渣(Empty fruit bunch,EFB)为原料,通过预处理、酶解、发酵等过程制备纤维乙醇.首先对比了碱、碱/过氧化氢等预处理条件对棕榈残渣组成及酶解的影响,结果表明稀碱预处理效果较好.适宜的稀碱预处理条件为:NaOH浓度为1％,固液比为1∶10,在40℃浸泡24 h后于121℃下保温30 min,在该条件下,EFB的固体回收率为74.09％,纤维素、半纤维素和木质素的含量分别为44.08％、25.74％和13.89％.对该条件下预处理后的固体样品,以底物浓度5％、酶载量30 FPU/g底物酶解72 h,纤维素和半纤维素的酶解率分别达到84.44％和89.28％.进一步考察了酶载量和底物浓度对酶解的影响以及乙醇批式同步糖化发酵,当酶载量为30 FPU/g底物,底物浓度由5％增加至25％时,利用酿酒酵母Saccharomyces cerevisiae(接种量为5％,VIV)发酵72 h后乙醇的浓度分别为9.76 g/L和35.25 g/L,可分别达到理论得率的79.09％和56.96％.     

Ethanol fermentation of acid-hydrolyzed cellulosic pyrolysate with Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Acid-hydrolysis of cellulosic pyrolysate to glucose and its fermentation to ethanol were investigated. The maximum glucose yield (17.4%) was obtained by the hydrolysis with 0.2 mol/l sulfuric acid using autoclaving at 121 degrees C for 20 min. The fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae of a hydrolysate medium containing 31.6 g/l glucose gave 14.2 g/l ethanol after 24 h, whereas the fermentation of the medium containing 31.6 g/l pure glucose gave 13.7 g/l ethanol after 18 h. The results showed that acid-hydrolyzed pyrolysate could be used for ethanol production. Different nitrogen sources were evaluated and the best ethanol concentration (15.1 g/l) was achieved by single urea. S. cerevisiae (R) was obtained by adaptation of S. cerevisiae to the hydrolysate medium for 12 times, and 40.2 g/l ethanol was produced by it in the fermentation with the hydrolysate medium containing 95.8 g/l glucose, which was about 47% increase in ethanol production compared to its parent strain.     

Ethanol fermentation of acid-hydrolyzed cellulosic pyrolysate with Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The acid hydrolysis of cellulosic pyrolysate to glucose and its fermentation to ethanol were investigated. The maximum glucose yield (17.4%) was obtained by the hydrolysis with 0.2 mol sulfuric acid per liter pyrolysate using autoclaving at 121 degrees C for 20 min. The fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae of a hydrolysate medium containing 31.6 g/l glucose gave 14.2 g/l ethanol in 24 h, whereas the fermentation of the medium containing 31.6 g/l pure glucose gave 13.7 g/l ethanol in 18 h. The results showed that the acid-hydrolyzed pyrolysate could be used for ethanol production. Different nitrogen sources were evaluated and the best ethanol concentration (15.1 g/l) was achieved by single urea. S. cerevisiae (R) was obtained by adaptation of S. cerevisiae to the hydrolysate medium for 12 times, and 40.2 g/l ethanol was produced by S. cerevisiae (R) in the fermentation with the hydrolysate medium containing 95.8 g/l glucose, which was about 47% increase in ethanol production compared to its parent strain.     

Adaptation yields a highly efficient xylose-fermenting Zymomonas mobilis strain

Zymomonas mobilis is a superb ethanol producer with productivity exceeding yeast strains by several fold. Although metabolic engineering was successfully applied to expand its substrate range to include xylose, xylose fermentation lagged far behind glucose. In addition, xylose fermentation was often incomplete when its initial concentration was higher than 5%. Improvement of xylose fermentation is therefore necessary. In this work, we applied adaptation to improve xylose fermentation in metabolically engineered strains. As a result of adaptation over 80 days and 30 serial transfers in a medium containing high concentration of xylose, a strain, referred as A3, with markedly improved xylose metabolism was obtained. The strain was able to grow on 10% (w/v) xylose and rapidly ferment xylose to ethanol within 2 days and retained high ethanol yield. Similarly, in mixed glucose-xylose fermentation, a total of 9% (w/v) ethanol was obtained from two doses of 5% glucose and 5% xylose (or a total of 10% glucose and 10% xylose). Further investigation reveals evidence for an altered xylitol metabolism in A3 with reduced xylitol formation. Additionally xylitol tolerance in A3 was increased. Furthermore, xylose isomerase activity was increased by several times in A3, allowing cells to channel more xylose to ethanol than to xylitol. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that altered xylitol metabolism is key to improved xylose metabolism in adapted A3 strain. This work further demonstrates that adaptation and metabolic engineering can be used synergistically for strain improvement.     

High-Efficiency Carbohydrate Fermentation to Ethanol at Temperatures above 40 degrees C by Kluyveromyces marxianus var. marxianus Isolated from Sugar Mills

A number of yeast strains, isolated from sugar cane mills and identified as strains of Kluyveromyces marxianus var. marxianus, were examined for their ability to ferment glucose and cane syrup to ethanol at high temperatures. Several strains were capable of rapid fermentation at temperatures up to 47 degrees C. At 43 degrees C, >6% (wt/vol) ethanol was produced after 12 to 14 h of fermentation, concurrent with retention of high cell viability (>80%). Although the type strain (CBS 712) of K. marxianus var. marxianus produced up to 6% (wt/vol) ethanol at 43 degrees C, cell viability was low, 30 to 50%, and the fermentation time was 24 to 30 h. On the basis of currently available strains, we suggest that it may be possible by genetic engineering to construct yeasts capable of fermenting carbohydrates at temperatures close to 50 degrees C to produce 10 to 15% (wt/vol) ethanol in 12 to 18 h with retention of cell viability.