Fermentation
Fermentation converts the monomeric sugars produced from pre-treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis to ethanol. As our final product is fuel ethanol, we aim at producing ethanol as high concentration as possible. However, the hydrolysate generally contains toxic products which could potentially suppress the fermentation process and lower ethanol yield. We examine the major inhibitory compounds present in the hydrolysate and different detoxification mechanisms to achieve efficient fermentation for maximum ethanol yield. With the objective of concentrating ethanol to the desired levels, our researchers also aim at purifying ethanol via more environment friendly membrane seperation processes.
Our partners in fermentation research: NSERC, TEMBEC
Selected Fermentation Publications:
Kapu, S.L., Piddocke, M., Saddler, J.N., 2013. High gravity and high cell density mitigate some of the fermentation inhibitory effects of softwood hydrolysates. AMB Express (2013). 3:15 doi: 10.1186/2191-0855-3-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/2191-0855-3-15
Shen, F., Hu, J., Zhong, Y., Liu, M.L.Y., Saddler, J.N., Liu, R. 2012. Ethanol production from steam-pretreated sweet sorghum bagasse with high substrate consistency enzymatic hydrolysis. Biomass & Bioenergy, 41, 157-164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2012.02.022
Ohgren, K., Bura, R., Lesnicki, G., Saddler, J., Zacchi, G. 2007. A comparison between simultaneous saccharification and fermentation and separate hydrolysis and fermentation using steam-pretreated corn stover. Process Biochemistry, 42(5), 834-839. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2007.02.003
Mabee, W.E., Gregg, D.J., Arato, C., Berlin, A., Bura, R., Gilkes, N., Mirochnik, O., Pan, X., Pye, E.K., Saddler, J.N. 2006b. Updates on softwood-to-ethanol process development. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 129(1-3), 55-70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1385/ABAB:129:1:55