Solar-Energy Driven Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation of Starch to Bioethanol for Fuel-Cell Applications.
A solar reactor was designed to perform the conversion of starch to ethanol in a single step. An aqueous starch solution (5 wt %) was fed into the reactor bed charged with Baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and amylase, resulting in approximately 2.5 wt % ethanol collected daily (ca. 25 mL day(-1) ). A significant amount of ethanol (38 g) was collected over 63 days, corresponding to 84 % of the theoretical yield. The production of ethanol without additional energy input highlights the significance of this new process. The ethanol produced was also demonstrated as a potential fuel for direct ethanol fuel cells. Additionally, the secondary metabolite glycerol was fully reduced to a value-added product 1,3-propanediol, which is the first example of a fungal strain (Baker's yeast) converting glycerol in situ to 1,3-propanediol.
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel.
Betina
B
Tabah
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel.
Indra Neel
IN
Pulidindi
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA.
Venkateswara Rao
VR
Chitturi
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA.
Leela Mohana Reddy
LM
Arava
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel. gedanken@mail.biu.ac.il.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 70101, Taiwan. gedanken@mail.biu.ac.il.
Aharon
A
Gedanken
D000681:Amylases / Q000378:metabolism; D056804:Biofuels; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism*; D005285:Fermentation; D005990:Glycerol / Q000378:metabolism; D006868:Hydrolysis; D011409:Propylene Glycols / Q000378:metabolism; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000378:metabolism*; D012993:Solar Energy; D013213:Starch / Q000378:metabolism*
D056804:Biofuels; D011409:Propylene Glycols; D000431:Ethanol; C041787:1,3-propanediol; D013213:Starch; D000681:Amylases; D005990:Glycerol
bioethanol; fermentation; fuel cells; hydrolysis; solar energy