Enabling butanol production from crude sugarcane bagasse hemicellulose hydrolysate by batch-feeding it into molasses fermentation

Author(s)

Chacon, Suranny Jimenez ; Matias, Gabriela ; dos Santos Vieira, Carla Ferreira ; Ezeji, Thaddeus Chukwuemeka ; Maciel Filho, Rubens ; Mariano, Adriano Pinto

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: INDUSTRIAL CROPS AND PRODUCTS; v. 155, p. 6-pg., 2020-11-01.

Abstract

Butanol is a chemical and advanced biofuel whose fermentative production from hemicellulose hydrolysates is hindered by lignocellulose-derived microbial inhibitory compounds. In this work, Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum DSM 14923 was not able to ferment a sugarcane hemicellulose hydrolysate supplemented with either laboratory-grade nutrients or sugarcane molasses. To circumvent this problem, the crude hemicellulose hydrolysate was fed, after 24 h, to a molasses fermentation containing 45 g/L total reducing sugars. Without the need of supplementing nutrients, the culture was able to co-ferment sucrose, glucose, fructose, and xylose (conversion of sucrose and xylose were 81 and 90 %, respectively) in a fermentation containing a diluted molasses-to-hydrolysate volume ratio of 3:1. Butanol yield (0.31 g/g) was remarkable, and butanol titer was 10.0 g/L after 72 h of fermentation. Therefore, this research demonstrated that sugarcane molasses a byproduct of the sugar industry rich in sucrose and nutrients can - be an efficient feedstock for enabling the production of butanol from sugarcane bagasse hemicellulose hydrolysate. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/25925-0 - N-butanol production from fermentation of sugar cane bagasse hemicellulosic hydrolysate with cell immobilization
• Grantee: Gabriela Matias
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• FAPESP's process: 15/20630-4 - Biorefinery development integrated to a bioethanol sugar cane plant with zero CO2 emission: routes to convert renewable resources to bio-products and bio-electricity
• Grantee: Rubens Maciel Filho
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/23983-3 - Routes for production of sugarcane-based tires: efficient conversion of sugars to 1,3-butadiene precursors and techno-economic-environmental assessment
• Grantee: Adriano Pinto Mariano
• Support Opportunities: Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) - Regular Program Grants