PRODUCTION OF BIO-ETHANOL FROM LIGNOCELLULOSIC MATERIAL

Abstract

Lignocellulose biomass are the sole components in different waste streams obtained from various sources such as agriculture, industries, forestry and municipalities. They represent an undisturbed source of fermentable sugars for significant use in the industry for it’s conversion to biofuel. It is not possible to define the best pretreatment method as it depends on many factors such as type of lignocellulosic biomass, process parameters, environmental impact, economical feasibility, etc. Lignocellulose biomasses like wood dust and banana peel were selected for the bioethanol production. Many physico-chemical, structural and compositional factors hinder the hydrolysis of constituents like cellulose and hemicellulose present in the biomass to sugars and other organic compounds that can later be converted into biofuels. Pretreatment plays a key role in breaking the complex structure of biomass. Various pretreatment processes involving acid, alkali, solvents and biological entities were used for the process. Among them, it was found that the process involving the use of H2SO4 and K2Cr2O7 showed greater efficiency in breaking the biomass structure than the dilute acid pretreatment techniques. Moreover, the use of Phanerochyta chrysosporium resulted in the production of all three delignifying enzymes like Lignin Peroxidase, Laccase and Manganese Peroxidase which when used on the biomass gave good results. The biological method is a little time taking but is economical in nature.