Bioethanol production from oilseed rape straw hydrolysate by free and immobilised cells ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

Oilseed rape (OSR) straw can serve as a low-cost feedstock for bioethanol production. Glucose and other fermentable sugars were extracted from OSR straw using sulfuric acid pre-treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Batch fermentation of enzymatic hydrolysate with Saccharomyces cerevisiae immobilised in Lentikat ® was found to be superior to free cells in terms of bioethanol yield. The maximum bioethanol concentration from free and immobilised cells was 6.73 and 9.45 g.l -1 , respectively, with corresponding yields of 0.41and 0.49 g bioethanol. g glucose -1 .