Direct bioconversion of alkali-pretreated straw using simultanesous enzymatic hydrolysis and acetone-butanol fermentation

Summary Conversion of alkali-pretreated wheat straw into butanol and acetone by Clostridium acetobutylicum has been achieved in a one-step hydrolysis and fermentation process involving the use of cellulase from Trichoderma reesei. In the conditions adopted, the results obtained for solvent concentration (17.3 g.l^-1) solvent yield (18.3% with respect to pretreated wheat straw) and overall conversion time (36 h) demonstrate an improved performance over the separate hydrolysis and fermentation operation.