Development of combined nanofiltration and forward osmosis process for production of ethanol from pretreated rice straw
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Techniques for the Evolution of Robust Pentose-fermenting Yeast for Bioconversion of Lignocellulose to Ethanol
Published on: October 24, 2016
Masafumi Shibuya1, Kengo Sasaki2, Yasuhiro Tanaka1
1Center for Membrane and Film Technology, Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan.
Abstract:
A membrane process combining nanofiltraion (NF) and forward osmosis (FO) was developed for the sugar concentration with the aim of high bio-ethanol production from the liquid fraction of rice straw. The commercial NF membrane, ESNA3, was more adequate for removal of fermentation inhibitors (such as acetic acid) than the FO membrane, whereas the commercial FO membrane, TFC-ES, was more adequate for concentration of the sugars than the NF membrane. The liquid fraction was subjected to the following process: NF concentration with water addition (NF(+H2O))→enzymatic hydrolysis→FO concentration. This NF(+H2O)-FO hybrid process generated a total sugar content of 107g·L-1. Xylose-assimilating S. cerevisiae produced 24g·L-1 ethanol from the liquid fraction that was diluted 1.5-fold and then concentrated by the NF(+H2O)-FO hybrid process. The NF(+H2O)-FO hybrid process has the potential for optimized ethanol production from pretreated lignocellulosic biomass.
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