Enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation strategies for the biorefining of pine sawdust

This work aims to evaluate second-generation bioethanol production from the soda-ethanol pulp of pine sawdust via two strategies: separate hydrolysis and fermentation and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. A kinetics study of the enzymatic hydrolysis of separate hydrolysis and fermentation was included as a design tool. Three soda-ethanol pulps (with different chemical compositions), Cellic® Ctec2 cellulolytic enzymes, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae IMR 1181 (SC 1181) yeast were employed. The obtained kinetic parameters were as follows: an apparent constant (k) of 11.4 h-1, which represents the link frequency between cellulose and cellulase; a Michaelis-Menten apparent constant (KM) of 23.5 gL-1, that indicates the cellulose/cellulase affinity; and the apparent constant of inhibition between cellulose-glucose and cellulase (KI), which was 2.9 gL-1, 3.1 gL-1, and 6.6 gL-1 for pulps 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The kinetic model was applicable, since the calculated glucose values fit the experimental values. High bioethanol yields were obtained for pulp 3 in the separate hydrolysis and fermentation and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation processes (89.3% and 100% after 13 h and 72 h, respectively).