Bioethanol Production from Sugarcane Green Harvest Residues Using Auxin-Assisted Pretreatment

Abstract

Bioethanol and biochemicals from agriculture residues are key alternative for transport fuels and fossil chemicals to environmental impact mitigation and rural economy. In biofuels and biochemicals production, pretreatment is the crucial and energy demanding process that enhances components hydrolysis. Any improvement in energy conservation in this process would be an advantage. In this study, auxin was used for sugarcane residues pretreatment and the advantage of their use over the conventional pretreatment was analyzed. The optimization of pretreatment process conditions using auxin followed by saccharification, fermentation, and surface area analysis shows that auxin could be a prospective agent for lignocellulose pretreatment at mild conditions (175 ℃, 10.5 min and 2% auxin concentration). The optimized pretreatment conditions of auxin were less severe compared to optimized hot water pretreatment conditions that could lead to energy savings. Furthermore, the biodegradable nature of auxin could make the waste management easier in biorefineries.