Bioethanol Production from Food Waste Applying the Multienzyme System Produced On-Site byFusarium oxysporumF3 and Mixed Microbial Cultures

Waste management and production of clean and affordable energy are two main challenges that our societies face. Food waste (FW), in particular, can be used as a feedstock for the production of ethanol because of its composition which is rich in cellulose, hemicellulose and starch. However, the cost of the necessary enzymes used to convert FW to ethanol remains an obstacle. The on-site production of the necessary enzymes could be a possible solution. In the present study, the multienzyme production by the fungusFusarium oxysporumF3 under solid state cultivation using different agroindustrial residues was explored. Maximum amylase, glucoamylase, endoglucanase, b-glucosidase, cellobiohydrolase, xylanase, b-xylosidase and total cellulase titers on wheat bran (WB) were 17.8, 0.1, 65.2, 27.4, 3.5, 221.5, 0.7, 0.052 and 1.5 U/g WB respectively.F. oxysporumwas used for the hydrolysis of FW and the subsequent ethanol production. To boost ethanol production, mixedF. oxysporumandS. cerevisiaecultures were also used. Bioethanol production byF. oxysporummonoculture reached 16.3 g/L (productivity 0.17 g/L/h), while that of the mixed culture was 20.6 g/L (productivity 1.0 g/L/h). Supplementation of the mixed culture with glucoamylase resulted in 30.3 g/L ethanol with a volumetric productivity of 1.4 g/L/h.