Second generation ethanol made from coir husk under the biomass Cascade approach

Author(s)

Bronzato, Giovana R. F. ; dos Reis, Victor A. C. A. ; Borro, Jessyca A. ; Leao, Alcides L. ; Cesarino, Ivana

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: MOLECULAR CRYSTALS AND LIQUID CRYSTALS; v. 693, n. 1, p. 8-pg., 2019-11-02.

Abstract

Brazil is the largest world producer and consumer of coconut water with approximately two billion fruits, where 70% is for water production. Therefore, a large amount of waste is generated: the coir husk, which represents approximately 1.75 kg per fruit unit. This biomass presents 35% cellulose in its composition, which makes the coir husk a good option for the raw material for second-generation (2 G) ethanol production. In this study, the coir husk was chemically pretreated using four different treatments. The 2 G ethanol production was studied considering two different processes, using separated hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) or simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). The pretreatment used a solution containing sodium chlorite at 10% of the acetic acid and the SSF process was the better method for 2 G ethanol production from coir husk, yielding 52.7 L ethanol/ton of biomass. Thus, the coir husk can be considered an alternative for the production of 2 G ethanol, with all the environmental and social advantages of such an approach, such as occupying precious space in the landfills and taking 12 years to decompose. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/24274-3 - Development of glucose biosensor as an analytical tool aiming the optimization of second-generation ethanol production from pineapple residues
• Grantee: Ivana Cesarino
• Support Opportunities: Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) - Regular Program Grants