Biotransformation of C-5 and C-6 sugars of cellulosic cotton wastes to bioethanol through physical and enzymatic modes

Abstract

The present research focuses on the feasibility of utilizing cotton waste for energy resurgence after physical and biological pretreatment followed by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation processes (SSF). The cotton waste was pretreated with microwave irradiation (MW) and subsequently subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis for the release of sugars utilizing the cellulase enzyme producer Trichoderma reesei (MTCC 164). Based on Box-Behnken design, pH, temperature and hydrolysis time period were selected as the most significant variables for the production of cellulase. The simultaneous fermentation and enzymatic saccharification (SSF) of pretreated substrate with immobilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae (MTCC 172) yielded 2.65%, 1.48% and 1.32% of ethanol with hard waste, carding waste and cotton seed waste, respectively. The findings suggest that these cotton wastes can be used effectively for the ethanol production.