Butanol production from lignocellulosic-based hexoses and pentoses by fermentation of Clostridium acetobutylicum

The Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) fermentation is receiving renewed interest as a way to upgrade renewable resources into valuable base chemicals and liquid fuels. Abundance and un-competitiveness with food sources are desired features of a potential substrate, and they are met by lignocellulosic biomass. This contribution is about the characterization of the ABE fermentation by C. acetobutylicum DSM 792 using sugars representative for hydrolysis products of lignocellulosic biomass: hexoses (glucose and mannose) and pentoses (arabinose and xylose). Batch fermentations of single sugars were carried out. The conversion process was characterized as a function of time in terms of biomass, acids and solvents concentrations as well as pH and total organic compounds. C. acetobutylicum was able to convert all investigated sugars. The conversion into solvents was strongly enhanced by the presence of CaCO3 in the fermentation medium