Production of bioethanol from fermented sugars of sugarcane bagasse produced by lignocellulolytic enzymes of Exiguobacterium sp. VSG-1.

Exiguobacterium sp. VSG-1 was isolated from the soil sample and characterized for the production of lignocellulolytic enzymes. Production of these enzymes by the strain VSG-1 was carried out using steam-exploded sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and found to secrete cellulase, pectinase, mannanase, xylanase, and tannase. The growth and enzyme production were found to be optimum at pH 9.0 and 37 °C. Upon steam explosion of SCB, the cellulose increased by 42 %, whereas hemicelluloses and lignin decreased by 40 and 62 %, respectively. Enzymatic hydrolysis of steam-exploded SCB yielded 640 g/l of total sugars. Fermentation of sugars produced from pretreated SCB was carried out by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae at pH 5.0 and 30 °C. The alcohol produced was calculated and found to be 62.24 g/l corresponding to 78 % of the theoretical yield of ethanol. Hence, the strain VSG-1 has an industrial importance for the production of fermentable sugars for biofuels.