We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
The potential quantity of ethanol that could be produced from cellulose is over an order of magnitude larger than that producible from corn. In contrast to the corn-to-ethanol conversion, the cellulose-to ethanol route involves little or no contribution to the greenhouse effect and has a clearly positive net energy balance (five times better). As a result of such considerations, microorganisms that metabolize cellulose have gained prominence in recent years.
– Demain, A. L., Newcomb, M., and Wu, J. H. D. (2005). Cellulase, clostridia, and ethanol. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 69, 124–154.The preceding chapter described the major components of plant biomass – cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin – and their natural pathways of biodegradation. Many view the sugars locked up in cellulose and the hemicelluloses as an immense storehouse of renewable feedstocks for the fermentative production of fuel alcohol. This chapter begins with a discussion of the conversion of such sugars to ethanol and ends with an assessment of the future impact of fermentation alcohol as a fuel.
In microbiology, fermentation is defined as a metabolic process leading to the generation of ATP and in which degradation products of organic compounds serve as hydrogen donors as well as hydrogen acceptors. Oxygen is not a reactant in fermentation processes. In the words of Louis Pasteur, “[l]a fermentation est la vie sans l'air” – fermentation is life without air. The long history of brewing and wine making has produced highly refined technologies for large-scale fermentation and for the recovery of ethanol.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
