Biobutanol Production from Agricultural Waste: A Simple Approach for Pre-Treatment and Hydrolysis

Abstract

One of the main concerns regarding extensive production of biobutanol has been associated with the high costs of the substrate (preparation of fermentable sugars) and the relatively low tolerance of Clostridia to butanol. In this study a simple, mild approach was tested to obtain fermentable sugars from agricultural waste. Giant hogweed and hay was pre-treated with simple boiling and enzymatically hydrolysed. The results demonstrated that after adaptation of the genus Clostridium bacteria to the new substrate, the growth kinetics and sugar consumption of these bacteria were similar to the ones obtained in traditional culture media.