This paper presents a study on the use of rice (Oryza sativa) straw biomass for ethanol production. Alkali treated rice straw was successfully converted to ethanol using commercial cellulase and Saccharomyces cerevisiae HAU-1 strain. Treatment of 0.5 mm straw with 2% sodium hydroxide at 15 psi for 1 h resulted in 70% lignin removal along with 88% cellulose recovery. The optimum concentration of cellulase enzyme and hydrolysis temperature was found to be 7.5 FPU/ g substrate at 50°C that resulted in about 75% sugar release from polysaccharides. Fermentation of enzymatic hydrolysate by Saccharomyces cerevisiae (HAU-1) resulted in production of 20.46 g/l ethanol after 72 h incubation at 30°C.
Bioethanol, Rice straw, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Fermentation
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