An integrated process for continuous cellulosic bioethanol production

A high-efficiency, integrated bioethanol production process was developed in this study, using Miscanthus as lignocellulosic biomass. The continuous process involved a twin-screw extruder, a pretreated biomass washing/dewatering process, and a saccharification/fermentation process. In addition, the integration process was designed for the reuse of pretreatment solution and the production of highly concentrated bioethanol. Pretreatment was performed with 0.72 M NaOH solution at 95 degrees C using an 80 rpm twin-screw speed and a flow rate of 90 mL/min (18 g/min of raw biomass feeding). Following washing and dewatering steps, the pretreated biomass was subjected to simultaneous saccharification and bioethanol fermentation processes. The maximum ethanol concentration, yield from biomass, and total volume obtained were 59.3 g/L, 89.9%, and 60 L, respectively, using a pretreated biomass loading of 23.1% (w/v) and an enzyme dosage of 30 FPU/g cellulose. The results presented here constitute an important contribution toward the production of bioethanol from Miscanthus.