Promotion of enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass using natural additives for bioethanol production

Pretreatment is used to reduce the lignin and hemicellulose content present in biomass as they are inhibitory to the hydrolysis of cellulose. As time proceeds, it is found that redeposition of lignin occurs on the biomass surface. This paper focuses on the preparation of natural additives using soy-protein extract, and it is used for the enhancement of enzymatic hydrolysis. Acid pretreatment followed by hydrogen peroxide and hot-water pretreatment has been attempted for the black urad dhal (Vigna mungo) biomass. Hot-water-pretreated biomass was further subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis using additives. The nonproductive lignin binding on to the surface of the biomass lowers the activity of the enzyme and increases the requirement of enzymes for the hydrolysis of cellulose. The hydrolyzed biomass subjected to bioethanol production using saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is noticed that the bioethanol produced using hot-water pretreatment with additives and acid pretreated biomass with additives has a concentration of about 0.443 and 0.204 mL/g, respectively.