Ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass by co-fermentation with Pecoramyces sp. F1 and Zymomonas mobilis ATCC 31821 in an integrated process

A novel, integrated process for the production of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass is reported which involves simultaneous pretreatment, saccharification and fermentation using environmentally friendly technologies. The lignocellulosic biomass (8.33 g/L rice straw) was pretreated and saccharified with the anaerobic fungus Pecoramyces sp. F1, while the facultative anaerobic bacterium Zymomonas mobilis ATCC 31821 was employed to simultaneously ferment to produce ethanol. Without the need for additional pretreatment, the conversion from lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol was completed in four days with a production yield of 0.32 g ethanol/g glucose and a volumetric productivity of 0.010 g/L/h (0.98 g/L). Meanwhile, other metabolites were produced, including 0.024 g/L/h (2.28 g/L) acetate, 0.002 g/L/h (0.22 g/L) lactate and 0.002 g/L/h (0.15 g/L) formate. Results showed that the integrated process has the potential for ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass.