Single step production of bioethanol from the seaweed Ulva rigida using sonication

Abstract

Ulva rigida, a common green seaweed, was used as a feedstock for the production of bioethanol in a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process carried out under sonication. Sonication provided a faster way for the simultaneous release of glucose from Ulva rigida and its conversion into bioethanol. Within 3 h, 196 ± 2.5 mg glucose per gram of dry weight of biomass and 333.3 ± 4.7 mg bioethanol per gram of glucose were produced in the SSF process under sonication. In addition to being fast, the process was devoid of any chemical pretreatment and involves only a single stage of sonication for the release of glucose from algae by the action of enzymes and also for the simultaneous fermentation of glucose to ethanol using Saccharomyces cerevisiae.