No abstract

Argan pulp is an abundant byproduct from the argan oil process. It was investigated to study the feasibility of second-generation bioethanol production using, for the first time, enzymatic hydrolysis pretreatment. Argan pulp was subjected to an industrial grinding process before enzymatic hydrolysis using Viscozyme L and Celluclast 1.5 L, followed by fermentation of the resulting sugar solution by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The argan pulp, as a biomass rich on carbohydrates, presented high saccharification yields (up to 91% and 88%) and an optimal ethanol bioconversion of 44.82% and 47.16% using 30 FBGU/g and 30 U/g of Viscozyme L and Celluclast 1.5 L, respectively, at 10%w/v of argan biomass.