Biorefinery of corn cob for microbial lipid and bio-ethanol production: An environmental friendly process

Bioresour Technol. 2016 Jul:211:677-84. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2016.03.159. Epub 2016 Apr 1.

Abstract

Microbial lipid and bio-ethanol were co-generated by an integrated process using corn cob bagasse as raw material. After pretreatment, the acid hydrolysate was used as substrate for microbial lipid fermentation, while the solid residue was further enzymatic hydrolysis for bio-ethanol production. The effect of acid loading and pretreatment time on microbial lipid and ethanol production were evaluated. Under the optimized condition for ethanol production, ∼131.3g of ethanol and ∼11.5g of microbial lipid were co-generated from 1kg raw material. On this condition, ∼71.6% of the overall fermentable sugars in corn cob bagasse could be converted into valuable products. At the same time, at least 33% of the initial COD in the acid hydrolysate was depredated.

Keywords: Corn cob bagasse; Fermentation process; Rhodotorula glutinis; Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

MeSH terms

  • Bacteria / metabolism*
  • Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis
  • Biomass
  • Cellulose / chemistry
  • Ethanol / metabolism*
  • Fermentation / drug effects
  • Green Chemistry Technology / methods*
  • Hydrolysis
  • Lipids / biosynthesis*
  • Sulfuric Acids / pharmacology
  • Time Factors
  • Zea mays / chemistry*

Substances

  • Lipids
  • Sulfuric Acids
  • Ethanol
  • Cellulose
  • bagasse
  • sulfuric acid