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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Bioenergy Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #329068
Title: Butanol biorefineries: simultaneous product removal & process integration for conversion of biomass & food waste to biofuel

Author
item Qureshi, Nasib
item HUANG, H - Virginia Polytechnic Institution & State University
item SINGH, V - University Of Illinois
item Liu, Siqing
item Saha, Badal
item Hughes, Stephen

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/2/2016
Publication Date: 8/28/2016
Citation: Qureshi, N., Huang, H., Singh, V., Liu, S., Saha, B.C., Hughes, S.R. 2016. Butanol biorefineries: simultaneous product removal & process integration for conversion of biomass & food waste to biofuel [abstract]. 14th International Conference of Genetics, Physiology, and Synthetic Biology of Solvent-and-Acid Forming Clostridia. August 28-31, 2016, Hanover, New Hampshire. Page 22. No. 017

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Butanol, a superior biofuel, packs 30% more energy than ethanol on a per gallon basis. It can be produced from various carbohydrates and lignocellulosic (biomass) feedstocks. For cost effective production of this renewable and high energy biofuel, inexpensive feedstocks and economical process technologies must be used. These feedstocks include corn stover (CS), switchgrass, miscanthus, sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB), sugarcane bagasse (SB), wheat, barley, and rice straws. Because CS is inexpensive and readily available in the mid-western part of the United States, we have focused on production of butanol from this substrate. Food waste is another promising inexpensive substrate. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), more than 33 million tons of food waste were generated in 2012 alone in the United States. Conversion of food waste to biofuel would potentially reduce environmental pollution and result in sustainable energy production. In addition, we focused on combining pretreatment (for CS), simultaneous saccharification, fermentation, and recovery technologies for butanol production from these substrates. The novel product recovery technique applied was vacuum fermentation, which offers high butanol removal rates. Prior to these studies, we were unable to ferment CS hydrolyzate due to the presence of toxic substances. The concepts presented in these studies are expected to become a reality for the economic production of this novel biofuel.