Simultaneous glucose and xylose utilization for improved ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass through SSFF with encapsulated yeast

•SSFF with encapsulated yeast facilitated simultaneous glucose and xylose utilization.•Complete glucose consumption and 80% xylose uptake was obtained.•Ethanol yield of 90% of the theoretical value was obtained.•The viability of the genetically engineered yeast was preserved by SSFF.

Simultaneous glucose and xylose uptake was investigated for ethanol production using the simultaneous saccharification, filtration and fermentation (SSFF) process with pretreated wheat straw as a xylose-rich lignocellulosic biomass. A genetically engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (T0936) with the ability to ferment xylose was used for the fermentations. SSFF was compared with a conventional method of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) for glucose and xylose uptake, ethanol production, and cell viability on 10% and 12% suspended solids (SS) basis. With 10% SS, an ethanol yield of 90% of the theoretical level was obtained during SSFF with 80% xylose uptake while only 53% ethanol yield was observed during the SSF process. Increasing the solid load to 12% resulted in an ethanol yield of 77% of the theoretical value and 36% xylose uptake during SSFF while only 27% ethanol yield and no xylose uptake was observed during the corresponding SSF process. The SSFF process preserved the viability of the genetically engineered yeast throughout the fermentation, even when reused for 2 consecutive cultivations. The results show that the SSFF process does not only enhance effective cell performance but also facilitates simultaneous glucose and xylose utilization, which is important for broad range of biomass utilization for lignocellulosic ethanol production.