Recycling bioethanol production

The cost of enzyme preparations has been decreasing in recent years however, it continues to affect considerably the price of ethanol obtained from cellulosic raw materials. Increased enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency is one way to reduce the enz)me cost in bioethanol production. Another method is enzyme recycle and reuse. Immobilization of biocatalysts allows for their economic reuse and development of continuous bioprocess. Although immobilization poses problems of substrate accessibility and binding for most endo- and exocellulases, P-glucosidase exhibits characteristics amenable to immobilization, such as activity on soluble substrates and the lack of a carbohydrate-binding module. Among the possible approaches, immobilization of (J-glucosidase is one prospective solution to the problem. 

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the dominant microorganism in the first generation of fuel ethanol production. In recent years, the worldwide bioethanol production reached around 80 billion liters per year. In a typical industrial scale bioethanol fermentation process using Saccharomyces cerevisiae, around 8-14% (v/v) ethanol is produced and the glucose to bioethanol yield is usually over 90% of the theoretical yield. In some processes, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation is applied, in which a-amylase/glucoa-mylase is mixed with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and starchy raw materials. Most of yeast cells harvested in the fermentation are recycled and sent back in order to enhance the cell concentration in the fermenter. Around 5-10% yeast cells end up in Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS), which could be sold as animal feed. 

A number of relatively new methods are being investigated to improve the recovery of small molecules. These methods include elec-trokinetic separators with bipolar membranes, simulated moving-bed chromatography and supercritical fluid extraction. The latter is practiced for food components. It has also been described for proteins but has not yet found wide acceptance in this field. A fastgrowing field is the production of bioethanol via fermentation processes either from milled com or from recycled biomass. The fermentation and saccharification processes can occur simultaneously in the fermenting tank by means of saccharification enzymes (amylases, cellulases). 

One of the most important applications of cellulase systems could be in the production of ethanol from renewable lignocellulose (Li et al. 2009 Zhang et al. 2010). O Figure 7.6 shows an example of a biorefinery for a variety of products, including bioethanol and recyclable materials. In this context, thermostable cellulases are highly desirable cellulose breakdown is carried out at high temperatures (Turner et al. 2007). 

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