Microbial biofuel production using biomass feedstocks: A clean model of waste utilization for energy generation

The impact of pollution caused by the fossil fuels on the environment necessitates the research on renewable and sustainable source of energy. Biomass feedstocks are emerging as one of the clean sources for the energy production with zero waste generation. The present study focuses on the utilization of paddy straw for the production of bioethanol. The ligninolytic fungus, Aspergillus flavus was isolated from the soil and its ability to produce enzymes for the degradation of paddy straw was determined. Cellulase was the major lignocellulosic enzyme and was produced in solid state fermentation. The enzyme was extracted, purified and immobilized in chitosan nanoparticles to enhance its activity. The enzyme conjugated nanoparticles were then used for the saccharification of straw and its conversion into ethanol. Results showed that the degradation of biomass was the speediest in the presence of enzyme conjugated nanoparticles in comparison to the fungus and the extracted enzyme alone, which also led to the higher production of ethanol. The study proved that the plant biomass holds promising approach towards the generation of green energy like bioethanol and the nanoparticle conjugated specific enzyme can further boost its production.