Comparative analysis of fresh and dry free-floating aquatic plant Pistia stratiotes via chemical pretreatment for second-generation (2G) bioethanol production

Abstract

In the effort to manage global warming and fossil carbon emissions, many countries are suggesting brand-new policies to make their energy matrix much more renewable. The boost share of bioethanol as a transportation fuel becomes a short-term option since its production technology is fully grown and combined with gasoline. The 2nd generation ethanol still has involvement on the planet biofuels circumstance. In this study, water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) fresh and dry biomass applied with alkalis (NaOH) and acid (H2SO4) were combined to pretreat the abundant free-floating aquatic plant water lettuce biomass. Naturally, the water lettuce accumulates food in the form of starch, suitable for bioethanol production. The results showed that the highest total sugar (11.350 ± 0.09%), reducing sugar (4.773 ± 0.15%), and ethanol (15. 385 g/L) were obtained after pretreatment of dried water lettuce with cellulase. Consequently, water lettuce was high feasible for sustainable bioethanol production.