Fuel ethanol production from steam-pretreated corn stover using SSF at higher dry matter content

Replacing fossil fuels by bio-fuels has many advantages, such as the reduction of CO2-emission to the atmosphere, the possibility for non-oil-producing countries to be self-sufficient in fuel, and increased local job opportunities. Bio-ethanol is such a promising renewable fuel. However, today it is produced from sugar or starch—raw materials that are relatively expensive. To lower the production cost of bio-ethanol the cost of the raw material must be reduced and the production process made more efficient. The production of bio-ethanol from corn stover using simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) at high dry matter content addresses both issues. Corn stover is an agricultural by-product and thus has a low economic value. SSF at high dry matter content results in a high ethanol concentration in the fermented slurry, thereby decreasing the energy demand in the subsequent distillation step. In this study, SSF was performed on steam-pretreated corn stover at 5, 7.5 and 10% water-insoluble solids (WIS) with 2 g/L hexose-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ordinary compressed bakerʹs yeast). SSF at 10% WIS resulted in an ethanol yield of 74% based on the glucose content in the raw material and an ethanol concentration of 25 g/L. Neither higher yeast concentration (5 g/L) nor yeast cultivated on the liquid after the pretreatment resulted, under these conditions, in a higher overall ethanol yield.