Bioethanol from Miscanthus × giganteus: A Comparative Study of Different Pretreatment Technologies

Second-generation bioethanol technology is based on renewable raw materials with an unlimited potential for replenishment. However, the production cost of second-generation bioethanol is still higher than that of the first-generation. Biomass pretreatment is a key challenge, and solving it will improve the technology efficiency. In this study, Miscanthus × giganteus from the Russian breeding stock was subjected to pretreatments with dilute HNO3 under atmospheric pressure. Pretreatments were carried out either as a single stage (HNO3) or as two stages ((i) HNO3 followed by NaOH, and (ii) NaOH followed by HNO3). Classical delignification with NaOH was also performed for comparison. Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation with delayed inoculation (dSSF) was then performed under identical conditions, with Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y-3136 as the microbial producer. Two-stage pretreatments were found to excel in purity, pulp composition, pulp conversion, bioethanol yield during fermentation, and raw bioethanol purity (impurities decreased by a factor of 21 compared to NaOH delignification). However, fermentation indicators are not the only critical aspect in bioethanol production technology. The complete cycle from Miscanthus × giganteus feedstock to the target bioethanol product was evaluated. The single-stage pretreatment with HNO3 performed best among the tested conditions. The HNO3 pretreatment achieved a 50% yield of pulps and a maximal bioethanol yield of 267 L/t, which is 44% higher compared to NaOH delignification. Furthermore, the HNO3 pretreatment enables savings in resources and electric power, as well as full commercial utilization of all polymers of the lignocellulosic matrix of the feedstock.