Highly effective conversion of C5 and C6 sugars to ethanol by new yield type ethanol-tolerant microorganisms: challenge for sustainable 2nd generation bioethanol production from lignocellulose

A limiting factor for the full-scale utilization of lignocellulosic material for bioethanol production is the lack of wild-type (native) microorganisms that are able to efficiently ferment pentoses and hexoses with high tolerance to ethanol. Industrial application of the recombinant microbial strains for bioethanol production is still restricted by legislations with respect to human health and environment protection. High efficient microbial conversion of hexoses to ethanol is a well developed industrial process. On the contrary all known pentose utilizing wild-type microorganisms were characterized with low ethanol yields and low ethanol tolerance. The overall goal of this project is to screen and select microorganism and conditions for optimal hexose and pentose fermentation to ethanol. More specifically we aim to:
- enrich, isolate and identify a number of wild-type ethanologens with high ethanol tolerance and ability for high rate fermentation of both hexoses and pentoses;
- identify optimal process conditions for bioethanol production from real lignocellulosic hydrolysate;
- demonstrate bioethanol production with selected microorganisms in pilot scale conditions