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Study of enzymatic saccharification of Agave leaves biomass to yield fermentable sugars

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Abstract

Agave is a good source of polysaccharides for the production of fermentable sugars as sustainable bioenergy feedstock solutions for semi-arid and arid lands. This plant grows in arid areas, which correspond to a large territory in northern Mexico. Having lignocellulose as the polysaccharide of interest, the information for the enzymatic saccharification of this kind of material is limited. Agave cell walls have a unique recalcitrant nature, but having a high cellulose content, makes this plant material an interesting research subject. In this work, acidic, alkaline and aqueous pretreatments were evaluated to generate a biomass rich in cellulose. The saccharification of pretreated Agave leaves-residue was evaluated under experimental designs to identify the most suitable conditions for enzymatic hydrolysis. Maximum value obtained was 31% glucose, which further increased to 41.4% at extended hydrolysis time of 96 h. The highest cellulose-saccharification reached was up to 61.81%, making Agave atrovirens an alternative for bioethanol production in its geographical area of cultivation.

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Acknowledgements

Medina-Morales M would like to thank the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) for the scholarship given for this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Investigación en Alimentos, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

    Miguel A. Medina-Morales, Juan C. Contreras-Esquivel, Raúl Rodríguez-Herrera & Cristóbal N. Aguilar

  2. Laboratorio de Biotecnología Microbiana, Unidad de Posgrado, Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico, Instituto Tecnológico de Durango, Durango, Mexico

    Oscar Soto-Cruz

  3. Departamento de Ciencias Básicas. División de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Buenavista, Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

    Heliodoro De la Garza-Toledo

Authors
  1. Miguel A. Medina-Morales
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  2. Oscar Soto-Cruz
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  3. Juan C. Contreras-Esquivel
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  4. Raúl Rodríguez-Herrera
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  5. Heliodoro De la Garza-Toledo
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  6. Cristóbal N. Aguilar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristóbal N. Aguilar.

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Medina-Morales, M.A., Soto-Cruz, O., Contreras-Esquivel, J.C. et al. Study of enzymatic saccharification of Agave leaves biomass to yield fermentable sugars. 3 Biotech 7, 55 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-017-0714-9

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