Conversion of Cellulosic Biomass to Bioethanol through Fermentation Using Native Microorganisms: A Review

Abstract

In order to produce bioethanol from cellulosic biomass, a pretreatment process is used to reduce the sample size, break down the hemicelluloses to sugars, and open up the structure of the cellulose component. The cellulose portion is hydrolyzed by acids or enzymes into glucose sugar that is fermented to bioethanol. However, this paper is a review on the conversion of cellulosic biomass to bioethanol through fermentation using native microorganisms. Information used were mainly from secondary sources; data obtained reveal that a lot of work needs to be carried out to identify sustainable native microorganism (s) and more bio-friendly processes to achieve more microbial productivity and improvement of bioethanol yield. These can go a long way in ensuring a safe, clean, economical and sustainable energy resource.

Keywords

• Cellulosic biomass;
• Bioethanol;
• Fermentation;
• Microbial;
• Saccharification