LAUSR

Quest for renewable/eco-friendly energy sources has received immense focus in recent years. Current study involved consolidated bioprocessing of Saccharum spontaneum biomass (SSB) for biofuel-ethanol generation in a 'one pot consolidated bioprocess' (OPCB). SSB was pretreated with protic ionic liquid, triethylamine-bisulfate ([TEA][HSO4]), saccharified in-situ with cellulase/xylanase enzymes, and the released sugars were fermented to ethanol. Pretreatment and saccharification processes were optimized under OPCB to achieve 2.70-fold increased sugar yield i.e. from 196.56 to 531.00 mg/g biomass. Fermentation of sugars yielded ethanol at 209.6 mg/g biomass at a bioconversion efficiency of 72.56%. The pretreated SSB was comprehensively examined by/for XRD, NMR, SEM, FT-IR, and properties such as water retention capacity, surface area and cellulase adsorption ability to elucidate functional mechanisms of [TEA][HSO4] pretreatment.