Switchgrass for ethanol and lipid production

Authors: Dien, Bruce; Slininger, Patricia - Pat; Quarterman, Joshua; Mitchell, Robert - Rob; Vogel, Kenneth; Casler, Michael

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/10/2016
Publication Date: 11/13/2016
Citation: Patricia J. Slininger*, Bruce S. Dien, Cletus P. Kurtzman, Bryan R. Moser, Erica L. Bakota, Stephanie R.Thompson, Patricia J. O’Bryan, Michael A. Cotta, Venkatesh Balan, Mingjie Jin, Leonardo D. Sousa, Bruce E. Dale. Process Strategies for High Titers of Lipid Production by Oleaginous Yeasts in Undetoxified Hydrolyzates of Lignocellulosic Biomass. Proceedings of the 2016 AICHE Annual Meeting, Biochemical Conversion Processes in Forest/Plant Biomass Biorefineries Session, Paper # 231i., San Francisco, CA, November 13-18, 2016.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Switchgrass is being developed as a dedicated cellulosic biomass crop by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Switchgrass is a native prairie grass with high productivity and favorable agronomic traits. ARS researchers have recently released Liberty switchgrass, which has a 25-78% increase in biomass production compared to its parents Kanlow and Summer. In this study, these 3 cultivars are compared for carbohydrate contents and enzymatic extraction of sugars for ethanol production. Liberty significantly outperformed the other cultivars as measured by theoretical and estimated ethanol yields; the later based upon extracted sugars. In addition to ethanol, microbial lipid production is being explored as a possible product stream. Using oleaginous yeast identified from the ARS Culture Collection and a two-stage culture process, lipid titers have been increased 2-5 fold compared to previously reported results using biomass hydrolysates.