Direct microbial conversion of cellulose into ethanol

Bioethanol is an attractive, sustainable and alternative energy source to conventional fuel. Current ethanol production processes using crops (sugar cane and corn) as a starting substrate are well-established. However, a cheaper feedstock such as lignocellulosic biomass could make bioethanol more competitive with fossil fuel, although its complex structure makes this material more resistant to biological degradation. Recent efforts have focused on the one-step microbial conversion of plant biomass into biofuel since simultaneous microbial hydrolysis and fermentation of lignocellulosic material could represent a strategy to allow cost-effective production of ethanol. This study focused on ethanol production using wheat bran as a model of abundant industrial byproduct This project aimed to develop a economically feasible process for the one-step bioconversion of wheat bran into ethanol through: 1. the isolation, improvement and possible modification of microrganisms in order to obtain a strain suitable for the industrial ethanol production application. 2. the characterization of wheat bran as feedstock for bioethanol production by analysis of its main components 3. The evaluation of a series of pre-treatments to define the best combination of physical, chemical and enzymatic treatments characterized by low costs, high sugar efficiency and easy industrial applicability. 4. the study of wheat bran hydrolisates fermentability by microbial strains previously selected on the basis of their high ethanol performance