Pré-tratamento de biomassa lignocelulósica por macrofungos regionais para posterior produção de etanol de segunda geração

Abstract

With the growing demand for renewable energy sources as alternatives to fossil fuels, the use of lignocellulosic biomass, such as sugarcane bagasse and eucalyptus sawdust, is an alternative for the production of second generation ethanol. However, pretreatments are needed to facilitate the action of enzymes on biomass. Among the pretreatment methods, the biological has been studied, since it does not require the use of chemicals and high energy costs, to present soft conditions of process and not formation of inhibitory compounds to the later stages. In the present study, sugarcane bagasse and eucalyptus sawdust were pretreated by different basidiomycete species. The pretreated samples were hydrolyzed with enzymatic complex of Peninillium echinulatum and later the fermentation of the liberated sugars was carried out. In relation to the production of lignolytic enzymes, the species that stood out in sugarcane bagasse were Marasmiellus palmivorus VE111, Pleurotus pulmonarius PS2001, Pleurotus albidus 88F-13, Pycnoporus sanguineus PR32 and Trametes villosa 82I6. In eucalyptus sawdust, these enzymes were significantly lower than those obtained by the same species in sugarcane bagasse. In the analysis of FTIR spectra, T. villosa 82I6 and P. pulmonarius PS2001 presented favorable proportions between cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin consumption in both biomasses tested. In enzymatic hydrolysis assays, biological pretreatment with T. villosa 82I6 increased the digestibility of the pulp present in the sawdust to 42% and of the sugarcane bagasse to 22%. T. villosa 82I6 was highlighted, since in both biomass, it was the basidiomycete that promoted the highest glucose release in the hydrolysis step, in samples pretreated for shorter times. In alcoholic fermentation of the hydrolysates of both biomasses pretreated with T. villosa 82I6, ethanol yield from sugarcane bagasse was increased to 20.2±0.5 mg/g after 49 days of treatment, while the control presented yield of 10.1±0.8 mg/g. The ethanol yield from eucalyptus sawdust was increased to 25.5±0.7, 18.2±0.03 and 25.5±3.8 mg/g, respectively after 7, 28 and 42 days of treatment, while the control presented yield of 6.5±0.2 mg/g. The potential of T. villosa 82I6 as a biological agent in pretreatments of lignocellulosic biomass and the impact of pretreatment on subsequent steps has been demonstrated.