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Sequential Thermochemical Hydrolysis of Corncobs and Enzymatic Saccharification of the Whole Slurry Followed by Fermentation of Solubilized Sugars to Ethanol with the Ethanologenic Strain Escherichia coli MS04

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Abstract

Interest in the use of corncobs as feedstock for bioethanol production is growing. This study assesses the feasibility of sequential thermochemical diluted sulfuric acid pretreatment of corncobs at moderate temperature to hydrolyze the hemicellulosic fraction, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis of the whole slurry, and fermentation of the obtained syrup. The total sugar concentration after enzymatic hydrolysis was 85.21 g/l, i.e., 86 % of the sugars were liberated from the polymeric fractions, together with a low amount of furfural (0.26 g/l) and 4.01 g/l of acetic acid. The syrups, which contained 36.3, 40.9, 4.47, and 1.84 g/l of xylose, glucose, arabinose, and mannose, respectively, were fermented (pH 7, 37 °C, 150 rpm) to ethanol with the metabolically engineered acetate-tolerant Escherichia coli strain MS04 under non-aerated conditions, producing 35 g/l of ethanol in 18 h (1.94 gEtOH/l/h), i.e., a conversion yield greater than 80 % of the theoretical value based on total sugars was obtained. Hence, using the procedures developed in this study, 288 l of ethanol can be produced per metric ton of dry corncobs. Strain MS04 can ferment sugars in the presence of acetate, and the amount of furans generated during the sequential thermochemical and enzymatic hydrolysis was low; hence, the detoxification step was avoided. The residual salts, acetic acid, and solubilized lignin present in the syrup did not interfere with the production of ethanol by E. coli MS04 and the results show that this strain can metabolize mixtures of glucose and xylose simultaneously.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Samuel Macías-Bravo for the technical support during the project. Enzymatic preparations Accelerase 1500 and Accelerase XY were kindly provided by Genencor International Inc. Xylose was provided by Danisco, Mexico. This work was supported by the Mexican Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT), grants 94290 and CB-2010-156451; the Fund for International Cooperation in Science and Technology “Network of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean Countries on Joint Innovation and Research Activities” (FONCICYT ERANet-LAC), grant C0013-248192; the Bioenergy Thematic Network (“Red Mexicana de Bioenergía”), grant 260457; and the Development of Research and Higher Culture AC (FICSAC) programme of the Universidad Iberoamericana, grant 132020.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ingeniería y Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Iberoamericana, Prolongación Paseo de la Reforma 880, Lomas de Santa Fe, 01219, México DF, Mexico

    Lorena Pedraza, Araceli Flores & Hector Toribio

  2. Departamento de Procesos y Tecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Cuajimalpa, Avenida Vasco de Quiroga 4871, Santa Fe Cuajimalpa, 05300, México DF, Mexico

    Rodolfo Quintero & Sylvie Le Borgne

  3. Departamento de Ingeniería Celular y Biocatálisis, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo. Postal 510-3, 62250, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Cessna Moss-Acosta & Alfredo Martinez

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  1. Lorena Pedraza
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Correspondence to Lorena Pedraza, Sylvie Le Borgne or Alfredo Martinez.

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Pedraza, L., Flores, A., Toribio, H. et al. Sequential Thermochemical Hydrolysis of Corncobs and Enzymatic Saccharification of the Whole Slurry Followed by Fermentation of Solubilized Sugars to Ethanol with the Ethanologenic Strain Escherichia coli MS04. Bioenerg. Res. 9, 1046–1052 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-016-9756-9

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