Cellulosic ethanol potential of feedstocks grown on marginal lands

To examine the chemical composition and ethanol production of feedstocks grown on marginal lands, prairie cordgrass and switchgrass from waterlogged land, saline land, and saline water irrigated land were evaluated. Samples were pretreated using 1% w w ^-1 dilute acid at 160°C for 10 min, and simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation was conducted using industrial engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Samples grown on land irrigated with saline water had 2.8-fold higher total ash content compared to the other types of land, resulting in lower carbohydrate concentrations. Yeast fermented glucose and xylose simultaneously; almost all of the sugars were consumed, indicating that salts present in biomass ash did not inhibit yeast performance. Ethanol production from the waterlogged and saline lands was 2,500 to 4,700 L ha ^-1 , which is comparable to that of samples grown on other agricultural lands. Prairie cordgrass and switchgrass grown on marginal lands could be potential feedstocks for cellulosic biofuel.