Study on the production of second generation ethanol from elephant grass

• Grant number: 16/10955-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2016
• End date: July 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Camila Alves de Rezende
• Grantee: Beatriz Widmer Atta
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The second-generation ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass can be the key to increase the Brazilian energy matrix in a sustainable way. Currently, the main barrier for this to occur is the high costs associated with the production stages of this biofuel. Therefore, it is important to develop and to improve the processes to obtain ethanol from cellulose so that the costs are minimized and the process becomes feasible. The most common process for cellulosic ethanol production involves four stages: pretreatment, hydrolysis, fermentation, and purification. The pretreatment is necessary to change the structure and the composition of the lignocellulosic biomass, leaving the cellulose more accessible to the hydrolytic enzymes, which will act in the following hydrolysis step. The enzymatic hydrolysis is responsible for releasing glucose from cellulose. The fermentation is similar to that currently performed to obtain first-generation ethanol, in which yeasts are used to transform sugars into ethanol. Finally, purification ensures that the ethanol obtained is free from residues and within the legal parameters to be commercialized. The goal of this project is to study the second generation ethanol production process from elephant grass, which is abundant biomass in Brazil, with good characteristics for the lignocellulosic ethanol production. The project will focus on optimizing the steps of pretreatment and hydrolysis since these are currently the most limiting steps for the process in economic terms. Calculations will be carried out to estimate the cost of the necessary time, energy, reactants, and enzymes, seeking to maximize the economic value that can be obtained from the products and to minimize the cost of the process.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

REZENDE, CAMILA A.; ATTA, BEATRIZ W.; BREITKREITZ, MARCIA C.; SIMISTER, RACHAEL; GOMEZ, LEONARDO D.; MCQUEEN-MASON, SIMON J.. Optimization of biomass pretreatments using fractional factorial experimental design. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS, v. 11, JUL 24 2018. (16/10955-6, 16/05636-9, 16/13602-7)