The red seaweed Gracilaria verrucosa has been used for the production of bioethanol. Pretreatment for monosaccharide production was carried out with 12% (w/v) G. verrucosa slurry and 500 mM HNO3 at 121°C for 90 min. Enzymatic hydrolysis was performed with a mixture of commercial enzymes (Cellic C-Tec 2 and Celluclast 1.5 L; 16 U/ml) at 50°C and 150 rpm for 48 h. G. verrucosa was composed of 66.9% carbohydrates. In this study, 61.0 g/L monosaccharides were obtained from 120.0 g dw/l G. verrucosa. The fermentation inhibitors such as hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), levulinic acid, and formic acid were produced during pretreatment. Activated carbon was used to remove HMF. Wildtype and adaptively evolved Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida lusitaniae, and Kluyveromyces marxianus were used for fermentation to evaluate ethanol production.
Keywords: Bioethanol; Gracilaria verrucosa; adaptive evolution; enzymatic saccharification; fermentation; thermal acid hydrolysis.