Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of office waste paper aiming second generation ethanol production

• Grant number: 16/10750-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2016
• End date: July 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Gustavo das Graças Pereira
• Grantee: Pedro Paulo Kropf Abib Ladeira
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências da Natureza (CCN). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Campus de Lagoa do Sino. Buri , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The technological development of a clean and renewable energetic source is strategic to Brazil, hence ways of making feasible the reuse of cellulosic wastes in the production of the so-called second generation ethanol by means of biochemical routes have been investigated in several aspects. In the current project, it is proposed the production of second generation ethanol from office waste paper by employing enzymes produced by solid state cultivation. Different physical and chemical pre-treatments of the paper on the efficiency of saccharification will be tested, as well as different enzyme concentrations and periods of hydrolysis. Once ideal enzyme concentration and period of hydrolysis are defined, it will be performed tests of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation, by employing commercial yeasts as biological agent and varying pH and temperature aiming to maximize the yield in volume of ethanol per gram of paper. This project will be inserted in the research group of "Biotechnology and Bioenergy" from UFSCar Lagoa do Sino, integrating the research line "Hydrolysis of lignocellulosic material for production of bioethanol", currently in development in the emerging center to which it is linked. For the development of the project, it will be possible to count on the cooperation of the research group in "Bioenergy and Environment" of Ibilce/UNESP, where it is in progress the regular project supported by FAPESP (Proc. 2014/23453-3) "Scale-up of packed-bed bioreactors for cellulases production by solid-state fermentation", headed by Prof. Dr. João Cláudio Thoméo and of which the supervisor of this project is a researcher member.