Butanol production employing fed-batch fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum GX01 using alkali-pretreated sugarcane bagasse hydrolysed by enzymes from Thermoascus aurantiacus QS 7-2-4

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2016-07, Vol.212, p.82-91
• Main Authors: Pang, Zong-Wen, Lu, Wei, Zhang, Hui, Liang, Zheng-Wu, Liang, Jing-Juan, Du, Liang-Wei, Duan, Cheng-Jie, Feng, Jia-Xun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetone - metabolism; Alkali pretreatment; Alkalies - pharmacology; Batch Cell Culture Techniques - methods; Bioreactors - microbiology; Butanol; Butanols - metabolism; Cellulose - chemistry; Clostridium acetobutylicum; Clostridium acetobutylicum - metabolism; Ethanol - metabolism; Fed-batch fermentation; Fermentation - drug effects; Hydrolysis; Kinetics; Saccharum - chemistry; Saccharum - drug effects; Sugarcane bagasse; Temperature; Thermoascus - enzymology; Thermoascus aurantiacus; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2016.04.013

•Sugarcane bagasse (SB) is an ideal substrate for production of butanol.•Alkali pretreatment of SB increased the butanol yield significantly.•Almost all cellulose and hemicellulose in pretreated SB were enzymatically hydrolysed.•The yield of 15.4g of butanol per 100g raw SB is the highest reported to date. Sugarcane bagasse (SB) is a potential feedstock for butanol production. However, biological production of butanol from SB is less economically viable. In this study, evaluation of eight pretreatments on SB showed that alkali pretreatment efficiently removed lignin from SB while retaining the intact native structure of the released microfibrils. In total, 99% of cellulose and 100% of hemicellulose in alkali-pretreated SB were hydrolysed by enzymes from Thermoascus aurantiacus. The hydrolysate was used to produce butanol in a fed-batch fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum. At 60h, 14.17 and 21.11gL−1 of butanol and acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) were produced from 68.89gL−1 of total sugars, respectively, yielding 0.22 and 0.33gg−1 of sugars. The maximum yield of butanol and ABE reached 15.4g and 22.9g per 100g raw SB, respectively. This established process may have potential application for butanol production from SB.