Bioethanol production from sawdust of Colombian pine: conditions and efficiency

Abstract

The growing importance of the transport sector in relation to energy demand underscores the need for action to improve energy efficiency and to develop economically and environmentally viable energy alternatives. This paper presents the results of the conditions under which ethanol can be obtained from the sawdust of the forest species Pinus patula and Pinus oocarpa, which were grown in the Cauca Department in Colombia. Highest percentages of cellulose were with 12% of NaOH. Enzymatic hydrolysis with the fungus Trichoderma viride led to cellobiose and glucose for P. patula and P. oocarpa between 7% and 37% respectively. A fermentation process using Saccharomyces cerevisiae at 18 h allowed obtain yields of 100% and 96.85% of ethanol to samples of Pinus patula and Pinus oocarpa respectively. These results indicate the feasibility of the pretreatment, hydrolysis and fermentation of the studied pine species to obtain ethanol from sawdust.