Combining sestc engineered A. niger with sestc engineered S. cerevisiae to produce rice straw ethanol via step-by-step and in situ saccharification and fermentation.

The development of agricultural residue ethanol has a profound effect on the environment protection and energy supply. To increase the production efficiency of straw ethanol and reduce operation progress, the single-enzyme-system-three-cellulase gene (sestc) engineered Aspergillus niger and sestc engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae were combined to produce ethanol using the pretreated rice straw as the substrate. The present results showed that both the step-by-step and in situ saccharification and fermentation can effectively produce ethanol using rice straw as the carbon substrate. The conversion rates of ethanol were 12.76 and 14.56 g per 1 kg of treated rice straw, respectively, via step-by-step and in situ processes. In situ process has higher ethanol conversion efficiency of rice straw and fewer operation processes as compared with step-by-step process. Therefore, in situ saccharification and fermentation is a more economical and effective pathway to convert rice straw into ethanol. This study provides a reference to the conversion of lignocellulosic residues into ethanol with a combination of two kinds of sestc engineered strains.