Seed Pods of Heterophragma Adenophyllum as Potential Feedstock for Bioethanol Production

In this study, seed pods of Heterophragma adenophyllum were used as a cheap feedstock for bioethanol production. The substrate was pretreated chemically (different concentrations of alkali (KOH and NaOH) and acids (H2SO4 and HCl), and thermochemically. Results revealed that alkali treatment yielded maximum exposure of cellulosic content (56%) at the concentration of 1.5%. The pretreated substrate, having maximum cellulose content was further utilized in separate hydrolysis and fermentation, and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae, along with seven different bacterial strains, such as Bacillus paralichniformis, Bacillus megaterium, Bascillus flexus, Bascillus wiedmanni, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Bascillus aerius and Bascillus subtilis. The results of both fermentation techniques showed that separate hydrolysis and fermentation demonstrated a higher yield of bioethanol (6.43%) than SSF (5.08%). These results suggested that seed pods of H. adenophyllum could be utilized as a potential feedstock for large-scale ethanol production.