|
Joy Doran Peterson,
jpeterso@uga.edu, Kate Brandon, sbrandon@uga.edu, Dana Cook,
danacook@uga.edu, Emily DeCrescenzo, emilydhenriksen@gmail.com,
Eduardo de Ximines, eximines@uga.edu, Amrutra Jangid,
amruta2000@hotmail.com, Zeynep Cvetkovich, zcvet@uga.edu, and Jenna
Young, jmy715@uga.edu. Department of Microbiology, University of
Georgia, 204 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA 30602
|
| Political, environmental, and economic drivers have
aligned to focus intense research and commercialization efforts on
renewable fuels. Using agricultural and forestry residues as substrates
for enzyme and microbial conversions to fuel adds value to existing
processes, while removing a potential waste disposal concern. Substrates
examined include: 1) sugar beets and residues, and 2) forestry residue
and paper mill sludge. Pectin-rich sugar beet pulp was converted to over
100 gal ethanol/dton of pulp using fungal enzymes and bacterial
catalysts. Using a processing residue like beet pulp or paper mill
sludge has the added advantage of being collected in one site and
already partially processed, thus decreasing overall ethanol production
costs. Ethanol produced from fibrous materials such as forestry residues
varied according to the additional chemical or physical pretreatment
employed and from variations in residue composition. Using forestry
residues and thinnings for transportation fuel could help reduce fire
danger and improve forest health. |