Simultaneous sacchari®cation and fermentation of lignocellulosic wastes to ethanol using a thermotolerant yeast

Simultaneous sacchari®cation and fermentation (SSF) studies were carried out to produce ethanol from lignocellulosic wastes (sugar cane leaves and Antigonum leptopus leaves) using Trichoderma reesei cellulase and yeast cells. The ability of a thermotolerant yeast, Kluyveromyces fragilis NCIM 3358, was compared with Saccharomyces cerevisiae NRRL-Y-132. K. fragilis was found to perform better in the SSF process and result in high yields of ethanol (2.5±3.5% w/v) compared to S. cerevisiae (2.0±2.5% w/v). Increased ethanol yields were obtained when the cellulase was supplemented with b-glucosidase. The conversions with K. fragilis were completed in a short time. The substrates were in the following order in terms of fast conversions: Solka ¯oc > A. leptopus > sugar cane