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A strategy for synergistic ethanol yield and improved production predictability through blending feedstocks

Persson, Michael LU ; Galbe, Mats LU and Wallberg, Ola LU orcid (2020) In Biotechnology for Biofuels 13(1).
Abstract

Background: The integration of first- and second-generation bioethanol processes has the potential to accelerate the establishment of second-generation bioethanol on the market. Cofermenting pretreated wheat straw with a glucose-rich process stream, such as wheat grain hydrolysate, in a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process could address the technical issues faced during the biological conversion of lignocellulose to ethanol. For example, doing so can increase the final ethanol concentration in the broth and mitigate the effects of inhibitors formed during the pretreatment. Previous research has indicated that blends of first- and second-generation substrates during simultaneous saccharification and fermentation have... (More)

Background: The integration of first- and second-generation bioethanol processes has the potential to accelerate the establishment of second-generation bioethanol on the market. Cofermenting pretreated wheat straw with a glucose-rich process stream, such as wheat grain hydrolysate, in a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process could address the technical issues faced during the biological conversion of lignocellulose to ethanol. For example, doing so can increase the final ethanol concentration in the broth and mitigate the effects of inhibitors formed during the pretreatment. Previous research has indicated that blends of first- and second-generation substrates during simultaneous saccharification and fermentation have synergistic effects on the final ethanol yield, an important parameter in the process economy. In this study, enzymatic hydrolysis and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation were examined using blends of pretreated wheat straw and saccharified wheat grain at various ratios. The aim of this study was to determine the underlying mechanisms of the synergy of blending with regard to the yield and volumetric productivity of ethanol. Results: Replacing 25% of the pretreated wheat straw with wheat grain hydrolysate during simultaneous saccharification and fermentation was sufficient to decrease the residence time needed to deplete soluble glucose from 96 to 24 h and shift the rate-limiting step from ethanol production to the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis. Further, a synergistic effect on ethanol yield was observed with blended substrates, coinciding with lower glycerol production. Also, blending substrates had no effect on the yield of enzymatic hydrolysis. Conclusions: The effects of substrate blending on the volumetric productivity of ethanol were attributed to changes in the relative rates of cell growth and cell death due to alterations in the concentrations of substrate and pretreatment-derived inhibitors. The synergistic effect of substrate blending on ethanol yield was attributed in part to the decreased production of cell mass and glycerol. Thus, it is preferable to perform simultaneous saccharification and fermentation with substrate blends rather than pure substrates with regard to yield, productivity, and the robustness of the process.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Blending synergy, Ethanol, Fermentation, Fermentation dynamics, Hydrolysis, Pretreated wheat straw, Process integration, Saccharified wheat grain, SSF, Substrate blending
in
Biotechnology for Biofuels
volume
13
issue
1
article number
156
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85093365926
  • pmid:32944072
ISSN
1754-6834
DOI
10.1186/s13068-020-01791-z
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2f7cc384-da27-4102-9a39-422f9ac5a189
date added to LUP
2020-11-10 09:39:48
date last changed
2024-06-12 23:54:50
@article{2f7cc384-da27-4102-9a39-422f9ac5a189,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: The integration of first- and second-generation bioethanol processes has the potential to accelerate the establishment of second-generation bioethanol on the market. Cofermenting pretreated wheat straw with a glucose-rich process stream, such as wheat grain hydrolysate, in a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process could address the technical issues faced during the biological conversion of lignocellulose to ethanol. For example, doing so can increase the final ethanol concentration in the broth and mitigate the effects of inhibitors formed during the pretreatment. Previous research has indicated that blends of first- and second-generation substrates during simultaneous saccharification and fermentation have synergistic effects on the final ethanol yield, an important parameter in the process economy. In this study, enzymatic hydrolysis and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation were examined using blends of pretreated wheat straw and saccharified wheat grain at various ratios. The aim of this study was to determine the underlying mechanisms of the synergy of blending with regard to the yield and volumetric productivity of ethanol. Results: Replacing 25% of the pretreated wheat straw with wheat grain hydrolysate during simultaneous saccharification and fermentation was sufficient to decrease the residence time needed to deplete soluble glucose from 96 to 24 h and shift the rate-limiting step from ethanol production to the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis. Further, a synergistic effect on ethanol yield was observed with blended substrates, coinciding with lower glycerol production. Also, blending substrates had no effect on the yield of enzymatic hydrolysis. Conclusions: The effects of substrate blending on the volumetric productivity of ethanol were attributed to changes in the relative rates of cell growth and cell death due to alterations in the concentrations of substrate and pretreatment-derived inhibitors. The synergistic effect of substrate blending on ethanol yield was attributed in part to the decreased production of cell mass and glycerol. Thus, it is preferable to perform simultaneous saccharification and fermentation with substrate blends rather than pure substrates with regard to yield, productivity, and the robustness of the process.</p>}},
  author       = {{Persson, Michael and Galbe, Mats and Wallberg, Ola}},
  issn         = {{1754-6834}},
  keywords     = {{Blending synergy; Ethanol; Fermentation; Fermentation dynamics; Hydrolysis; Pretreated wheat straw; Process integration; Saccharified wheat grain; SSF; Substrate blending}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{09}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{Biotechnology for Biofuels}},
  title        = {{A strategy for synergistic ethanol yield and improved production predictability through blending feedstocks}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13068-020-01791-z}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s13068-020-01791-z}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}