Production of bioethanol from sugarcane bagasse: Status and perspectives

Lignocellulosic biomass is considered as the future feedstock for ethanol production because of its low cost and its huge availability. One of the major lignocellulosic materials found in great quantities to be considered, especially in tropical countries, is sugarcane bagasse (SCB). This work deals with its current and potential transformation to sugars and ethanol, considering pretreatment technologies, detoxification methods and biological transformation. Some modeling aspects are exposed briefly. Finally stability is discussed for considering the high nonlinear phenomena such as multiplicity and oscillations, which make more complex the control as a result of the inhibition problems during fermentation when furfural and formic acid from SCB hydrolysis are not absent. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.