Enhancement of ethanol production by the removal of fermentation inhibitors, and effect of lignin-derived inhibitors on fermentation

In this study, ethanol was produced from a biomass hydrolysate that had been treated by electrodialysis (ED) and Amberlite XAD resin to remove fermentation inhibitors. Most of the acetic acid (95.6%) was removed during the ED process. Non-ionizable compounds such as total phenolic compounds, 5-hydroxymethyl furfural, and furfural were effectively removed by the XAD resin treatment. Ethanol production was improved when the ED-treated hydrolysate was treated with XAD-4 resin for a short reaction time. The highest ethanol production from ED-treated hydrolysate was 6.16 g/l (after 72 h of fermentation) when the treatment with XAD-4 resin was for 5 min. Among the ligninderived fermentation inhibitors tested, syringaldehyde in low concentrations (1 and 2 mM) in the hydrolysate increased ethanol production, whereas a high concentration (5 mM) inhibited the ethanol production process. A synthetic medium containing syringaldehyde and ferulic acid was prepared to investigate the synergistic effect of inhibitors on ethanol fermentation. Ethanol production decreased in the mixture of 1 mM syringaldehyde and 1 mM ferulic acid, implying that the effect of ferulic acid on ethanol fermentation is comparable to that of syringaldehyde.