Reed canary grass as a feedstock for 2nd generation bioethanol production

The enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of reed canary grass, harvested in the spring or autumn, and barley straw were studied. Steam pretreated materials were efficiently hydrolysed by commercial enzymes with a dosage of 10–20 FPU/g d.m. Reed canary grass harvested in the spring was hydrolysed more efficiently than the autumn-harvested reed canary grass. Additional β-glucosidase improved the release of glucose and xylose during the hydrolysis reaction. The hydrolysis rate and level of reed canary grass with a commercial Trichoderma reesei cellulase could be improved by supplementation of purified enzymes. The addition of CBH II improved the hydrolysis level by 10% in 48 hours’ hydrolysis. Efficient mixing was shown to be important for hydrolysis already at 10% dry matter consistency. The highest ethanol concentration (20 g/l) and yield (82%) was obtained with reed canary grass at 10% d.m. consistency.