Chengdu Biotech invents a method for producing ethanol by using straw as raw material

Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a method for the fermentation of acetone, ethanol, and butanol using straw as a raw material. This innovative technique is protected by a patent granted by the State Intellectual Property Office, with the patent number ZL 201210259521.X.

Acetone, ethanol, and butanol (ABE) fermentation is a well-established industrial process. However, traditional methods that rely on food crops for ABE production have raised concerns regarding food security and environmental sustainability. In contrast, using agricultural waste such as straw offers a significant advantage by avoiding the "moral hazard" associated with competing for food resources. If successfully scaled up, this approach can not only address the issue of resource competition but also convert waste into valuable products. China produces approximately 7×10⁸ tons of straw annually, which represents a vast and underutilized resource for ABE production.

Before fermentation, straw biomass must undergo pretreatment to release fermentable sugars like glucose and xylose. However, this process also generates various inhibitors, including acids, aldehydes, phenols, and salts, which can negatively affect microbial performance. While ABE-producing strains are efficient at utilizing glucose and xylose, they are highly sensitive to these inhibitory compounds. As a result, the use of straw hydrolyzate in fermentation requires complex detoxification steps, increasing both time and cost.

Currently, common detoxification approaches include physical, chemical, and biological methods. However, each method has its limitations, and in practice, a combination of techniques is often required. These combined methods significantly raise production costs and hinder the large-scale commercialization of ABE from straw. Therefore, the key to making this process viable lies in developing low-cost, efficient, and user-friendly production methods that minimize or eliminate the need for detoxification.

To address the challenges of pretreating straw before ABE fermentation, researchers at the Chengdu Institute of Biological Technology have developed an optimized process. Their patented method includes several stages: straw pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, medium preparation, microbial seed culture, ABE fermentation, and solvent distillation. A key innovation in their process is the addition of FeSO₄·7H₂O during the fermentation stage, which enhances solvent yield and overall production efficiency. This simple yet effective modification helps reduce costs and streamline the entire production workflow, making it more practical for industrial application.

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