T. VIRUTHAGIRI AND E. SASIKUMAR
Abstract
In recent years, growing attention has been devoted to the conversion of biomass into fuel ethanol, considered the cleanest liquid fuel and an alternative to fossil fuels. Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF) process with Trichoderma viride and thermotolerant yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus var. marxianus were used to convert cellulose fibers of Recycled Paper Sludge (RPS) samples to ethanol. The effect of temperature on glucose fermentation using thermotolerant yeast was studied. Further the effect of substrate concentration, initial pH, and temperature on ethanol production from RPS were examined by conducting batch experiments using Trichoderma viride and thermotolerant yeast. At standard SSF conditions, a maximum yield of aboLt 16.5 g/L of ethanol was obtained from 50 g/L of dry RPS, after 144 h of fermentation.