Production of Fuel Grade Ethanol from Cellulose Sources

Cellulose, the most abundant biomass on the planet, is a promising source of carbon neutral energy. The utilization of cellulose as a feedstock for fuel grade ethanol production was the focus of this investigation. As cellulose can not be converted to ethanol by Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it must first be processed into fermentable sugars. This process was investigated. In particular acid hydrolysis was compared to enzymatic catalyst treatment for different cellulose sources from methyl cellulose to news paper and straw. Waste office paper was selected as the source with enzymatic catalyst treatment as the process. A scale up of this system was conducted. The feedstock was 3% paper pulp. The enzyme was cellulase from Trichoderma reesei. While conducting the investigation, several obstacles had to be overcome. In particular, determining glucose concentrations in cellulose containing solutions was a problem. After several methods were tried, the most reliable method found was the use of a disposal blood glucose tester, used by diabetics world wide.