ARS | Publication request: Bioethanol Production from Wheat Straw

Submitted to: Society of Industrial Microbiology Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract
Publication Acceptance Date: August 3, 2006
Publication Date: August 3, 2006
Citation: Saha, B.C., Cotta, M.A. 2006. Bioethanol production from wheat straw [abstract]. Society of Industrial Microbiology. p. 64.

Technical Abstract: Ethanol is a biobased oxygenated fuel. In the USA, the production of fuel ethanol from corn starch reached 4.0 billion gallons in 2005. Wheat straw, an abundant byproduct of wheat production, contains about 70% carbohydrates that can serve as a low cost feedstock for conversion to fuel ethanol. Research needs to be carried out to develop an efficient pretreatment method which can help enzymes breakdown the complex carbohydrates to simple sugar mixtures without generating compounds inhibitory to fermentative microorganisms. The efficient utilization of all these sugars is essential for cost-effective production of ethanol from wheat straw. Our research dealing with the pretreatment of wheat straw without generating the fermentation inhibitors, enzymatic saccharification, and fermentation of the sugars (glucose, xylose, arabinose, and galactose) to ethanol by an ethanol producing recombinant bacterium using both separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) approaches will be presented. The problems and prospects of developing an integrated bioprocess technology for conversion of wheat straw to ethanol will be highlighted.