Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.5
3.2
Journals
Energies
Special Issues
Advances and Challenges in Cellulosic Ethanol
energies-logo
Submit to Energies Review for Energies Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Advances and Challenges in Cellulosic Ethanol

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2015) | Viewed by 37282

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Dimitris S. Argyropoulos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departments of Forest Biomaterials & Chemistry, North Carolina State University, 2820 Faucette Drive, Rm 3104, Raleigh, NC 27695-8005, USA
Interests: materials; chemicals and energy from forest biomass; organic chemistry of wood components; bio-refining of lignin; cellulose and nano-cellulose based smart materials; NMR spectroscopy and polymer chemistry of biopolymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Without a doubt, our society’s concerns over increasing fuel prices, green house gas emissions, and the associated global warming have created a tremendous interest in the science and technologies that promise the sustainable production of energy from domestic resources. In this respect, lignocellulosic biomass (wood) has the unique ability to supply it because carbohydrates and lignin are among the most abundant organic compounds on the planet, representing a vast amount of biomass (in the range of hundreds of billions of tons). Our fossil carbon-based energy economy relies on distinctly hydrophobic hydrocarbon molecules that are devoid of oxygen and functional groups. In contrast to hydrocarbons, carbohydrates are highly functionalized and hydrophilic molecules. As such our chemical and energy industry needs to redevelop in a major way if it is to use lignocellulosic biomass as its feedstock. These considerations unambiguously dictate the need for practically oriented scientific research and development covering a wide range of applications for the use of Cellulose to Ethanol.

This special issue is focused at bringing together the global expertise from academia, government, and industry with the aim to disseminate their latest findings and to exchange their ideas for the future in the realm of “Cellulose to Ethanol”. The present issue will attempt to offer the reader a current view of the issue. Contributors should attempt to provide a good review of the literature, creating a sound foundation for the science to be subsequently developed. The editor anticipates that this issue will provide a resource for new ideas, guidance, and a good embarkation point for any future endeavors in the broad area that is defined by its title “Advances & Challenges in Cellulosic Ethanol”.

Prof. Dr. Dimitris S. Argyropoulos
Guest Editor

Keywords

  • bioenergy
  • pre-treatment
  • novel pre-treatment methods
  • softwood versus hardwood digestibility issues
  • cellulose
  • cellulase enzymes
  • cellulase inhibition
  • recalcitrance of biomass
  • novel methods of analysis for wood
  • fermentation towards bioethanol
  • byproduct utilization
  • lignin utilization
  • crystallinity
  • analytical methods in lignocellulose
  • biofuel life cycle analysis
  • biofuel process economics
  • biomass supply in biofuels production

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

258 KiB  
Article
Second Generation Ethanol Production from Brewers’ Spent Grain
by Rossana Liguori, Carlos Ricardo Soccol, Luciana Porto de Souza Vandenberghe, Adenise Lorenci Woiciechowski and Vincenza Faraco
Energies 2015, 8(4), 2575-2586; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8042575 - 31 Mar 2015
Cited by 65 | Viewed by 8567
Abstract
Ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomasses raises a global interest because it represents a good alternative to petroleum-derived energies and reduces the food versus fuel conflict generated by first generation ethanol. In this study, alkaline-acid pretreated brewers’ spent grain (BSG) was evaluated for ethanol [...] Read more.
Ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomasses raises a global interest because it represents a good alternative to petroleum-derived energies and reduces the food versus fuel conflict generated by first generation ethanol. In this study, alkaline-acid pretreated brewers’ spent grain (BSG) was evaluated for ethanol production after enzymatic hydrolysis with commercial enzymes. The obtained hydrolysate containing a glucose concentration of 75 g/L was adopted, after dilution up to 50 g/L, for fermentation by the strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae NRRL YB 2293 selected as the best producer among five ethanologenic microorganims. When the hydrolysate was supplemented with yeast extract, 12.79 g/L of ethanol, corresponding to 0.28 g of ethanol per grams of glucose consumed (55% efficiency), was obtained within 24 h, while in the non-supplemented hydrolysate, a similar concentration was reached within 48 h. The volumetric productivity increased from 0.25 g/L·h in the un-supplemented hydrolysate to 0.53 g/L h in the yeast extract supplemented hydrolysate. In conclusion, the strain S. cerevisiae NRRL YB 2293 was shown able to produce ethanol from BSG. Although an equal amount of ethanol was reached in both BSG hydrolysate media, the nitrogen source supplementation reduced the ethanol fermentation time and promoted glucose uptake and cell growth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Cellulosic Ethanol)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

841 KiB  
Article
Kinetic Modeling of Ethanol Batch Fermentation by Escherichia Coli FBWHR Using Hot-Water Sugar Maple Wood Extract Hydrolyzate as Substrate
by Yang Wang and Shijie Liu
Energies 2014, 7(12), 8411-8426; https://doi.org/10.3390/en7128411 - 16 Dec 2014
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 8041
Abstract
A recombinant strain of Escherichia coli FBWHR was used for ethanol fermentation from hot-water sugar maple wood extract hydrolyzate in batch experiments. Kinetic studies of cell growth, sugar utilization and ethanol production were investigated at different initial total sugar concentrations of wood extract [...] Read more.
A recombinant strain of Escherichia coli FBWHR was used for ethanol fermentation from hot-water sugar maple wood extract hydrolyzate in batch experiments. Kinetic studies of cell growth, sugar utilization and ethanol production were investigated at different initial total sugar concentrations of wood extract hydrolyzate. The highest ethanol concentration of 24.05 g/L was obtained using an initial total sugar concentration of 70.30 g/L. Unstructured models were developed to describe cell growth, sugar utilization and ethanol production and validated by comparing the predictions of model and experimental data. The results from this study could be expected to provide insights into the process performance, optimize the process and aid in the design of processes for large-scale production of ethanol fermentation from woody biomass. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Cellulosic Ethanol)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

856 KiB  
Article
New Approach to Fuelization of Herbaceous Lignocelluloses through Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation Followed by Photocatalytic Reforming
by Masahide Yasuda, Ryo Kurogi, Hikaru Tsumagari, Tsutomu Shiragami and Tomoko Matsumoto
Energies 2014, 7(7), 4087-4097; https://doi.org/10.3390/en7074087 - 26 Jun 2014
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5715
Abstract
Bio-fuelization of herbaceous lignocelluloses through a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process (SSF) and photocatalytic reforming (photo-Reform) was examined. The SSF of the alkali-pretreated bamboo, rice straw, and silvergrass was performed in an acetate buffer (pH 5.0) using cellulase, xylanase, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae at [...] Read more.
Bio-fuelization of herbaceous lignocelluloses through a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process (SSF) and photocatalytic reforming (photo-Reform) was examined. The SSF of the alkali-pretreated bamboo, rice straw, and silvergrass was performed in an acetate buffer (pH 5.0) using cellulase, xylanase, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae at 34 °C. Ethanol was produced in 63%–85% yields, while xylose was produced in 74%–97% yields without being fermented because xylose cannot be fermented by S. cerevisiae. After the removal of ethanol from the aqueous SSF solution, the SSF solution was subjected to a photo-Reform step where xylose was transformed into hydrogen by a photocatalytic reaction using Pt-loaded TiO2 (2 wt % of Pt content) under irradiation by a high pressure mercury lamp. The photo-Reform process produced hydrogen in nearly a yield of ten theoretical equivalents to xylose. Total energy was recovered as ethanol and hydrogen whose combustion energy was 73.4%–91.1% of that of the alkali-pretreated lignocelluloses (holocellulose). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Cellulosic Ethanol)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

805 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Second Generation Ethanol Production by Thermophilic Bacteria
by Sean Michael Scully and Johann Orlygsson
Energies 2015, 8(1), 1-30; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8010001 - 24 Dec 2014
Cited by 83 | Viewed by 14154
Abstract
There is an increased interest in using thermophilic bacteria for the production of bioethanol from complex lignocellulosic biomass due to their higher operating temperatures and broad substrate range. This review focuses upon the main genera of thermophilic anaerobes known to produce ethanol, their [...] Read more.
There is an increased interest in using thermophilic bacteria for the production of bioethanol from complex lignocellulosic biomass due to their higher operating temperatures and broad substrate range. This review focuses upon the main genera of thermophilic anaerobes known to produce ethanol, their physiology, and the relevance of various environmental factors on ethanol yields including the partial pressure of hydrogen, ethanol tolerance, pH and substrate inhibition. Additionally, recent development in evolutionary adaptation and genetic engineering of thermophilic bacteria is highlighted. Recent developments in advanced process techniques used for ethanol production are reviewed with an emphasis on the advantages of using thermophilic bacteria in process strategies including separate saccharification and fermentation, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF), and consolidated bioprocessing (CBP). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Cellulosic Ethanol)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop