Xerophilic bioethanol: a modern alternative for biofuel production

The cell growth behavior and the effect of the acid hydrolysis percentage for the treatment of Agave americana and Aloe barbadensis Miller waste for bioethanol production were evaluated. Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lalvin EC-1118 were used as yeasts, which were pretreated with acid solutions at a concentration of 3% and 7%, in addition to a heat treatment at 175 °C for 2 hours. The hydrolysates were inoculated with yeasts to measure bacterial growth by turbidimetry. The treatment with both strains at 3% was the one that presented the most significant microbial growth. Lalvin EC-1118 performed better than Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Agave americana; the opposite occurred in Aloe barbadensis Miller. Consumed sugars and yeast growth showed that the appropriate bioprocess to produce bioethanol is Aloe barbadensis Miller 3%, using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The correlation between consumed sugars and yeast growth and characterization suggests that xerophilous plants are a viable alternative for biofuel production.