Felled oil palm trunk as a renewable source for biobutanol production by Clostridium spp.

This study aimed to convert felled oil palm trunk to biobutanol by Clostridium spp. For efficient utilization of oil palm trunk, it was separated into sap and trunk fiber. The sap was used directly while the trunk fiber was hydrolyzed to fermentable sugars before use. Among five clostridia strains screened, Clostridium acetobutylicum DSM 1731 was the most suitable strain for butanol production from the sap without any supplementation of nutrients. It produced the highest amount of butanol (14.4 g/L) from the sap (sugar concentration of 50 g/L) with butanol yield of 0.35 g/g. When hydrolysate from the trunk fiber was used as an alternative carbon source (sugar concentration of 30 g/L), of the strains tested Clostridium beijerinckii TISTR 1461 produced the highest amount of butanol (10.0 g/L) with butanol yield of 0.41 g/g. The results presented herein suggest that oil palm trunk is a promising renewable substrate for biobutanol production.