Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR) , IIT Madras
Process for Producing Bioethanol using Cheese Whey and Cellulosic Biomass
Technology Category/Market
Category – Green Technology, Biofuels
Applications – Bioethanol Production, Energy, Biofuels, Waste Management
Industry – Biofuels, Agriculture & Dairy Waste Management, Energy
Market – Bioethanol market size is estimated to be USD 83.4 B in 2023, and it is projected to reach USD 114.7 B by 2028 at a CAGR of 6.6%.
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Problem Statement
- Biomass high in cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin are not readily digestible and are primarily utilized for wood and paper products, fuel, or are disposed of.
- Cheese whey is a common waste byproduct of dairy production which in surplus can endanger the physical and chemical structures of soil, decrease crop yields, and cause serious water pollution.
- Creating products from whey reduces whey disposal costs for the dairy industry, enabling their businesses to become more profitable.
- Thus, it is desirable to find inexpensive and environmentally-friendly alternatives for creating commercially desirable products from cheese whey.
- Also, a need exists for an improved process for producing bioethanol using cheese whey and cellulosic biomass.
Technology
- An improved process for producing bioethanol using cheese whey and cellulosic biomass.
- Obtain lignocellulosic biomass from various agro-industrial waste and by-products and processed for using in the bioethanol production.
- Pretreat lignocellulosic biomass using alkali, acid solvents or steam explosion or combination.
- Enzymatically hydrolyze pretreated biomass by mixing with the cheese whey and a cocktail of cellulases and hemicellulases.
- Ferment hydrolysate using ethanologenic microorganism, such Kluyveromyces marxianus in order to produce bioethanol.
Key Features/Value Proposition
- The primary industrial advantage is to utilize cheese whey, along with lignocellulosic substrates, which is a byproduct of agriculture industry for ethanol production.
- In addition whey acts as a buffering solution, and replace buffer which leads to low cost of enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocelluloses.
- This invention maximizes the use of low-cost, lignocellulosic biomass found in agriculture and dairy industry waste for effective production of ethanol at a low processing time.
Questions about this Technology?
Contact for Licensing
Research Lab
Prof. Chandraraj Raj Krishnan,
Department of Biotechnology
Intellectual Property
- IITM IDF Ref. 1306
- IN 432544 – Patent Granted
Technology Readiness Level
TRL- 3
Technology validated in lab.