Optimization of a one-step biochemical conversion of California Agave spp. to bioethanol

One of the key challenges to widespread biofuels production from lignocellulosic biomass is the high cost of conversion due to its complex fibrous structure and heterogeneous composition.  As a result, pretreatment is generally required to overcome the recalcitrance of biomass and achieve economically acceptable yields. Although pretreatment improves porosity and enzymatic penetration and removes obstacles to high yields in deconstruction of biomass, it is energy intensive and is responsible for a large portion of the capital and operating costs for biochemical conversion.  However, because feedstocks and pretreatment are intimately linked in that the selection of one influences the choice of the other, a promising solution to the commercialization challenge of recalcitrance is to focus on biomass that requires minimal pretreatment and associated costs.  One such promising biomass is agave.  In particular, agave has a low lignin content, suggesting lower recalcitrance compared to conventional C₃ or C₄ agricultural crops.  This study, with its focus on the optimization of a single step bioconversion of agave to bioethanol to lower capital expenditure, will seek to address this hurdle to commercialization.  It will rely on enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation to tease out the ethanol yield of California agave species, and explore the impact of variables governing these reactions via the Plackett-Burman experimental design approach.