Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vol.43, No.3, 412-415, 1995
Study of a Single and Mixed Culture for the Direct Bio-Conversion of Sorghum Carbohydrates to Ethanol
Fusarium oxysporum F3 alone or in mixed culture with Saccharomyces cerevisiae 2541 fermented soluble and insoluble carbohydrates of sweet sorghum stalk directly to ethanol. Both microorganisms were first grown aerobically and fermented sorghum stalk to ethanol thereafter. During fermentation, insoluble carbohydrates were hydrolysed to soluble sugars by the celluloytic system of F. oxysporum. Ethanol yields as high as 24.4 and 33.5 g/100 g dry stalks were obtained by F. oxysporum and the mixed culture respectively, representing a theoretical yield enhancement of 11.6% and 53.6% respectively. The corresponding ethanol concentrations in the fermentation medium were 4.6% and 6.4% (w/v). These results clearly demonstrated that a large portion of insoluble carbohydrate from sorbghum was converted by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation to ethanol, making the process promising for bioethanol production.
Keywords:SOLID-STATE FERMENTATION;FUSARIUM-OXYSPORUM;SWEET SORGHUM;NEUROSPORA-CRASSA;BETA-GLUCOSIDASE;CELLULOSE;STRAW