Study for the enhancing of fusel oil production associated with the bioethanol production

• Grant number: 11/18669-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: February 02, 2012
• End date: March 01, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Everson Alves Miranda
• Grantee: Everson Alves Miranda
• Host Investigator: Kris Arvid Berglund
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Química (FEQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Michigan State University (MSU), United States

Abstract

The challenging of increasing bioethanol production in Brazil requires research action in all fronts of the business: agricultural, industrial, energy, and sustainability. In the industrial front, process development aiming production of the second generation of bioethanol is one of most studied topics. In this direction, fermentation, recovery, and partial purification of the enzymatic complexes used for the hydrolysis of the biomass are key steps that still need intense research. However, improving the process currently used is a priority. One of the ways this can be done is by adding more value to the output streams of the biorefinery by improving byproducts production, This will contribute for the economical feasibility of the investment. The fusel oil, a mixture of compounds, mainly alcohols with three to six carbons, produced by Saccharomyces during bioethanol fermentation, is one of them. However, almost no effort in research aiming its production is found in the literature, except for the fusel oil role in flavor and aroma of distilled alcoholic beverages. There are only some isolated efforts in process improvement in a few biotehanol industrial plants. In both cases, the base knowledge needed is the same, since the Ehrlich pathway is the catabolic route through which fusel alcohols are produced. The objective of this work is to do a preliminary study on the improvement of the production of fusel oil during bioethanol fermentation. The host researcher has profound knowledge on the fermentation of alcoholic beverages, including the formation of fusel alcohols, and it is involved in biorefinery research. This two month residence in the laboratory of the host will assure me the basic knowledge for the implementation of new research line in my laboratory, besides allowing deep discussions in other two topics of common interest related to biorefinery: the hydrolytic enzyme complexes recovery and butyric acid fermentation. (AU)