Comparative of Lignocellulosic Ethanol Production by Kluyveromyces marxianus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

The world faces a progressive depletion of its energy resources, mainly fossil fuels based on non-renewable resources. At the same time, the consumption of energy grows at high rates, and the intensive use of fossil fuels has led to an increase in the generation of gaseous pollutants released into the atmosphere, which has caused changes in the global climate. The lignocellulosic bioethanol is considered as a promising alternative for use as fuel ethanol. However, one of the main problems in producing ethanol is toxic compounds generated during hydrolysis of lignocellulosic wastes; these compounds cause a longer lag phase and irreversible cell damage to the microorganisms used in the fermentation step. These conditions of fermentation affect the productivity and the economic feasibility of the lignocellulosic ethanol production process. In this context, many efforts had been carried out to improve the capacity of volumetric ethanol productivity of the yeast. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is commonly employed in industrial ethanol production. However non-Saccharomyces yeast as Kluyveromyces marxianus can produce alcohols at similar or higher levels than S. cerevisiae and on inhibitory conditions.