Contents

**Preface XI**



Preface

production in developing countries.

dustrial ethanol production.

produce ethanol from carbon dioxide is mentioned.

The world of bioethanol production reached 100 billion liters in 2017, with the United States (from corn) and Brazil (from sugarcane) being the main producers. Both countries produced 85% of total ethanol, and Brazil contributed with approximately 30% of world production. Brazil is the greatest sugarcane producer and the resulting ethanol represents 50% of total fuel used for transportation by light vehicles. Sugarcane is also the main crop for ethanol

Sugarcane feedstock contributes to the highest energy balance of the industrial first-genera‐ tion bioethanol process and additional gains could be achieved when lignocellulosic sub‐

This book offers a broad understanding of bioethanol production from sugarcane, although a few other substrates, except corn, will also be mentioned. The 10 chapters are grouped in five sections. The Fuel Ethanol Production from Sugarcane in Brazil section consists of two chapters dealing with the first-generation ethanol Brazilian industrial process. In these chap‐ ters the reader is guided on the implantation of the first world national effort to change the energy matrix aimed at dependency on fossil fuel. Many important lessons were learned regarding politics and economic and technological difficulties related to this successful im‐ plantation. Undoubtedly, this experience would be useful for other countries that wish to use biomass for energy conversion. In this section the industrial process for ethanol produc‐ tion is also depicted in detail related to the physiological and technological traits of fermen‐ tation, stressing conditions imposed on fermenting yeast, and the limiting factor of ethanol productivity. Special attention is paid to bacterial contaminants, the major challenge of in‐

The Strategies for Sugarcane Bagasse Pretreatment section deals with emerging physicochem‐ ical methods for biomass pretreatment, and the non-conventional biomass source for lignocel‐ lulosic ethanol production addresses the potential of weed biomass as alternative feedstock. In the Recent Approaches for Increasing Fermentation Efficiency of Lignocellulosic Ethanol section, potential and research progress using thermophile bacteria and yeasts is presented, taking advantage of microorganisms involved in consolidating or simultaneous hydrolysis and fermentation processes. Finally, the Recent Advances in Ethanol Fermentation section presents the use of cold plasma and hydrostatic pressure to increase ethanol production effi‐ ciency. Also in this section the use of metabolic-engineered autotrophic cyanobacteria to

strate from this crop is used for second-generation ethanol production.


J. Tony Pembroke, Patricia Armshaw and Michael P. Ryan
