Cellulosic bioethanol production from Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) using hydrogen peroxide-acetic acid (HPAC) pretreatment

•Jerusalem artichoke is a suitable candidate biomass crop for bioethanol production.•Hydrogen peroxide-acetic acid (HPAC) pretreatment can effectively remove lignin.•Optimized enzyme cocktails enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis of Jerusalem artichoke.•Fermentation of the hydrolyzates with S. cerevisiae gave a fermentation yield of 84%.

Jerusalem artichoke (JA) is recognized as a suitable candidate biomass crop for bioethanol production because it has a rapid growth rate and high biomass productivity. In this study, hydrogen peroxide-acetic acid (HPAC) pretreatment was used to enhance the enzymatic hydrolysis and to effectively remove the lignin of JA. With optimized enzyme doses, synergy was observed from the combination of three different enzymes (RUT-C30, pectinase, and xylanase) which provided a conversion rate was approximately 30% higher than the rate with from treatment with RUT-C30 alone. Fermentation of the JA hydrolyzates by Saccharomyces cerevisiae produced a fermentation yield of approximately 84%. Therefore, Jerusalem artichoke has potential as a bioenergy crop for bioethanol production.