Effect of post-treatment process of microalgal hydrolysate on bioethanol production

Sci Rep. 2020 Oct 7;10(1):16698. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-73816-4.

Abstract

Microalgae accumulate abundant lipids and are a promising source for biodiesel. However, carbohydrates account for 40% of microalgal biomass, an important consideration when using them for the economically feasible production of biodiesel. In this study, different acid hydrolysis and post-treatment processing of Chlorella sp. ABC-001 was performed, and the effect of these different hydrolysates on bioethanol yield by Saccharomyces cerevisiae KL17 was evaluated. For hydrolysis using H2SO4, the neutralization using Ca(OH)2 led to a higher yield (0.43 g ethanol/g sugars) than NaOH (0.27 g ethanol/g sugars). Application of electrodialysis to the H2SO4 + NaOH hydrolysate increased the yield to 0.35 g ethanol/g sugars, and K+ supplementation further enhanced the yield to 0.41 g ethanol/g sugars. Hydrolysis using HNO3 led to the generation of reactive species. Neutralization using only NaOH yielded 0.02 g ethanol/g sugars, and electrodialysis provided only a slight enhancement (0.06 g ethanol/g sugars). However, lowering the levels of reactive species further increased the yield to 0.25 g ethanol/g sugars, and K+ supplementation increased the yield to 0.35 g ethanol/g sugars. Overall, hydrolysis using H2SO4 + Ca(OH)2 provided the highest ethanol yield, and the yield was almost same as from conventional medium. This research emphasizes the importance of post-treatment processing that is modified for the species or strains used for bioethanol fermentation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biofuels*
  • Biomass
  • Biotechnology*
  • Carbohydrates
  • Ethanol*
  • Fermentation*
  • Microalgae*
  • Sugars

Substances

  • Biofuels
  • Carbohydrates
  • Sugars
  • Ethanol