Bioethanol production from agro-industrial Saccharum spp. residues: using Trametes versicolor (L.: Fr.) Quél in simple fermentation and saccharification processes

Objective: To quantify the production of total and reducing sugars, as well as bioethanol from sugarcane bagasse (Saccharum spp.) pretreated with Trametes versicolor and 20 % (P/V) NaOH solution. Design/methodology/approach: An experimental 2K design was used to determine the effect of the volume of inoculant added to wild sugarcane bagasse samples (Factor A; 8 and 10 mL), its incubation period (Factor B; 18 and 24 d), and the bagasse weight/ volume of 20% (P/V) NaOH solution (Factor C; 5 and 20%(P/V), on the production of total and reducing sugars during simple saccharification. ANOVA analysis was used to evaluate the significance of these factors. The production of bioethanol was achieved via simple fermentation using a commercial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Results: It was found that the highest yields of reducing and total sugars were obtained with the use of 10 mL of inoculant solution and with an 18 d incubation period during biological pretreatments. The ANOVA analysis suggests that Factors A and B influence the release of sugars, while Factor C was irrelevant. The bioethanol production registered concentrations of up to 7.3 mg mL-1 for every 5 g of sugarcane bagasse. Limitations/implications: This study focused on how treatments using T. versicolor and NaOH affected the release of sugars. Optimization of bioethanol production needs to be considered subsequently in another study. Findings/conclusions: The results have implications for the use of pretreatments for the production of bioethanol from agro-industrial residues.