Abstracto

Commentary on the reuse of black liquor for enzymatic hydrolysis and ethanol fermentation of alkali-treated sugarcane bagasse

Wen Wang, Xuesong Tan, Qiong Wang, Qiang Yu, Guixiong Zhou, Wei Qi, Xinshu Zhuang and Zhenhong Yuan

To alleviate water consumption and wastewater generation, the industrialization of cellulosic ethanol production based on alkaline pretreatment will be accelerated. A feasible way to reuse the pretreatment liquid (black liquor) for enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation will be discussed. After the black liquor was acidified to pH 4.8 and centrifuged, the supernatant could not be used for ethanol fermentation but for cellulolytic hydrolysis, while its diluent was suitable for both ethanol fermentation and cellulolytic hydrolysis. Combining these findings with current technological development on recycling black liquor and waste wash water, an improved technical flow of cellulosic ethanol production based on alkaline pretreatment was predicted.