Bioethanol Production From Leaves of Quercus Infectoria in Kurdistan Region

Abstract

Quercus infectoria is one of the most abundant native oak species in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. This study focused on utilizing leaves of Quercus infectoria for ethanol production in the region. A typical three-step conversion process of acid pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and yeast fermentation was investigated to produce ethanol from the leaves. Under the selected acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis conditions, the glucose and xylose concentrations in the hydrolysates reached 11.4 g/L and 16.8 g/L, respectively, with the corresponding sugar conversions of 42.8% and 99.8%. A yeast strain, Kluyveromyces marxianus, was used to ferment mono-sugars in the hydrolysates for ethanol production. The ethanol production rate and conversion of K. marxianus in the fermentation were 0.17 g/L/h and 27%. The techno-economic analysis further concluded that a regional ethanol biorefinery can be established in the Zawita sub-district, Iraq to utilize Q. infectoria leaves to produce 200,000,000 kg ethanol/year with a positive energy balance of 745,052,623 MJ/year. The net annual revenue of the biorefinery is $123,692,804. The payback period of the biorefinery is 10 years.

Understanding the Use of Timber in Semi-Arid Regions: Kurdistan Region of Iraq, a Case Study

“…The geo-cultural territory of Kurdistan generally comprises the following four areas: southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan), northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan), and northern Syria (Western Kurdistan). The Southern Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is one of the most prosperous regions in the Middle East because of its petroleum and mineral resources [21]. Currently, the KRI is witnessing great urban development at the building and urban levels.…”