Acidic and basic pre-treatments of agroindustrial residues for obtaining second generation ethanol

Abstract

The present study investigated the application of acid (with H2SO4) or basic (NaOH) pretreatment for 2G ethanol production using two agro-industrial residues (orange pomace and soy molasses). The highest yields of conversion of residues into fermentable sugars were 37.7% (orange pomace/acid medium); 32.8% (orange pomace/basic medium) and 27.5% (soy molasses/acid medium). Ethanol production was higher in media that underwent acid pretreatment, reaching a maximum of 3.8% v/v for orange pomace.