Effect of Moisture Content and Inoculum Size on Cell Wall Composition and Ethanol Yield from Switchgrass after Solid-State Pleurotus ostreatus Treatment
Abstract. The white-rot fungus is capable of selectively degrading lignin over polymeric sugars. Solid-state cultivation and subsequent simultaneous saccharification and fermentation for ethanol production were performed. Effects of moisture content (MC) and fungus inoculum on biomass degradation, ligninolytic enzyme, and ethanol production were evaluated. First, fungal pretreatment was performed with varied MC and inoculum levels and sampled every 20 days. The highest xylose yield observed was 15.6% for samples with 75% MC and 5 mL inoculum at fungal pretreatment of 40 days. The highest lignin degradation of 52% and highest ethanol yield of 31% (based on the glucan present in the raw switchgrass) were achieved for 80-day fungal-treated samples with 75% MC and 5 mL inoculum. Keywords: KLywords. Bioenergy, Fungal pretreatment, Oyster mushroom, Perennial grass.