Feedstocks for First-Generation Bioethanol Production

Abstract

Ethanol from biomass was the first fuel used by man in Otto cycle engines. Its substitution by petroleum derivatives followed naturally due to the logarithmic growth of the world’s demand for energy and limitations in agricultural growth. The so-called first generation (1G) ethanol produced from biomass with important levels of easily fermentable sugars or lignocellulosic material that will be hydrolyzed and fermented. The first economically viable materials from saccharine fermentations were sugar cane and sugar beets, starchy fermentations were corn and cassava. The ability to ferment C5 and C6 sugars using classical or GMO yeast strains such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae makes it possible nowadays to use almost any type of biomass.

The definition of the use of one of these raw materials depends on factors such as its availability in quantity and frequency, storage organization, tax incentives offered by countries or regions, non-competition with food markets, the price of petroleum derivatives, and the culture of using clean energy that minimizes greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The technology for producing ethanol from 1G cereals is well known and there are many plants operating in the world, based on cereals. The interest subsidy for the creation of new ethanol plants is in common use in several countries in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, which justifies the preference for its mixture in gasoline.