Cellulosic bioethanol production from Eragrostis airoides Nees grass collected from Northeast India

The aim of this study was to check the ethanol yield of locally available lignocellulosic biomass (Eragrostis airoides Nees) by enzymatic saccharification and microbial fermentation. Two types of physico-chemical pretreatments were studied (dilute acid and alkaline). Physico-chemical pretreatment with dilute acid showed to be superior over the alkaline treatment with respect to the rate of enzyme hydrolysis and ethanol productivity. In the pretreatment conditions, the 5% acid +autoclave yielded the highest concentrations of total reducing sugar (25.46 g/L) and enzymatic hydrolysis (9.13 g/L). Fermentation of the E. airoides hydrolyzates by Saccharomyces cerevisiae produced a fermentation yield of 17.56 g/L ethanol. Therefore, E. airoides could be utilized to produce bioethanol and it can be a potential candidate for future bioethanol production as suggested by the analysis.