Sustainable Ethanol Production from Common Reed ( Phragmites australis ) through Simultaneuos Saccharification and Fermentation

Franco Cotana, Gianluca Cavalaglio, Anna Laura Pisello, Mattia Gelosia, David Ingles and Enrico Pompili
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Franco Cotana: CIRIAF-CRB Section, University of Perugia, Via G.Duranti 67, Perugia 06125, Italy
Gianluca Cavalaglio: CIRIAF-CRB Section, University of Perugia, Via G.Duranti 67, Perugia 06125, Italy
Anna Laura Pisello: CIRIAF-CRB Section, University of Perugia, Via G.Duranti 67, Perugia 06125, Italy
Mattia Gelosia: CIRIAF-CRB Section, University of Perugia, Via G.Duranti 67, Perugia 06125, Italy
David Ingles: CIRIAF-CRB Section, University of Perugia, Via G.Duranti 67, Perugia 06125, Italy
Enrico Pompili: CIRIAF-CRB Section, University of Perugia, Via G.Duranti 67, Perugia 06125, Italy

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Phragmites australis (common reed) is a perennial grass that grows in wetlands or near inland waterways. Due to its fast-growing properties and low requirement in nutrients and water, this arboreal variety is recognized as a promising source of renewable energy although it is one of the least characterized energy crops. In this experiment, the optimization of the bioethanol production process from Phragmites australis was carried out. Raw material was first characterized according to the standard procedure (NREL) to evaluate its composition in terms of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin content. Common reed was pretreated by steam explosion process at three different severity factor (R 0 ) values. The pretreatment was performed in order to reduce biomass recalcitrance and to make cellulose more accessible to enzymatic attack. After the pretreatment, a water insoluble substrate (WIS) rich in cellulose and lignin and a liquid fraction rich in pentose sugars (xylose and arabinose) and inhibitors were collected and analyzed. The simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of the WIS was performed at three different solid loadings (SL) 10%, 15%, 20% ( w / w ). The same enzyme dosage, equal to 20% (g enzyme/g cellulose), was used for all the WIS loadings. The efficiency of the whole process was evaluated in terms of ethanol overall yield (g ethanol/100 g raw material). The maximum ethanol overall yields achieved were 16.56 and 15.80 g ethanol/100 g RM dry basis for sample AP10 and sample AP4.4, respectively. The yields were reached working at lower solid loading (10%) and at the intermediate LogR 0 value for the former and at intermediate solid loading (15%) and high LogR 0 value for the latter, respectively.

Keywords: steam explosion; Ethanol; simultaneous saccharification and fermentation; Phragmites australis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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