Assessment of Durum Wheat ( Triticum durum Desf.) Genotypes Diversity for the Integrated Production of Bioethanol and Grains

Donatella Danzi, Ivana Marino, Isabella De Bari, Silvio Mastrolitti, Giacomo L. Petretto, Domenico Pignone, Michela Janni, Francesco Cellini and Tullio Venditti
Additional contact information
Donatella Danzi: Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council, 70126 Bari, Italy
Ivana Marino: Agenzia Lucana di Sviluppo e Innovazione in Agricoltura, Centro Ricerche Metapontum Agrobios, 75012 Bernalda, Italy
Isabella De Bari: ENEA C.R. Trisaia, 75026 Rotondella, Italy
Silvio Mastrolitti: ENEA C.R. Trisaia, 75026 Rotondella, Italy
Giacomo L. Petretto: Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Domenico Pignone: Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council, 70126 Bari, Italy
Michela Janni: Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council, 70126 Bari, Italy
Francesco Cellini: Agenzia Lucana di Sviluppo e Innovazione in Agricoltura, Centro Ricerche Metapontum Agrobios, 75012 Bernalda, Italy
Tullio Venditti: Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council, 07100 Sassari, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: Wheat straw is an abundant source of lignocellulosic biomass that is generally not utilized for biofuel production, nor for other uses. Recent EU renewable energy directive fosters bioethanol production through lignocellulosic sugars fermentation, but the cost of this process is an issue that often depends on biomass characteristics. Lignin is a class of three-dimensional polymers providing structural integrity of plant tissues. Its complex structure, together with hemicelluloses and uronic acids content, could affect the ability of hydrolyzing biomass to fermentable sugars. To get insights into this variation, a set of 10 durum wheat genotypes was analyzed to determine variation of straw digestibility to fermentable sugars. The results showed that the lignin content was the major factor determining the recalcitrance to enzymatic process. The analysis of Spearman’s correlation indicated that the sugar released after enzymatic hydrolysis had a negative connection with the lignin content, while it was positively correlated with the culm length. The possible role of other cell wall components, such as arabinose and uronic acids, was also discussed. This work aimed at analyzing the diversity of lignocellulosic digestibility to fermentable sugars of wheat straw in a small germplasm collection. Some of the selected genotypes were characterized by high sugars digestibility and high grain yield, characteristics that could make biorefining of wheat straw profitable.

Keywords: lignocellulosic biomass; biofuel; genotype; lignin content; recalcitrance; saccharification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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