IIT-Kharagpur researchers develop methodology for cellulose-hemicellulose dual process

In India, IIT-Kharagpur researchers have developed a process that results in four-fold increase in the yield of fermentable sugars and bioethanol from hemicelluloses, allowing feedstocks like grasses and lake hyacinth to finally become viable feedstocks. Lake hyacinth is 50% hemicellulose, for example, so a kilo of dry feedstock can now produce 0.18-0.29kg of ethanol. Research published in the journal Nature demonstrates how the process allows for both hemicellulose and cellulose to be used simultaneously, boosting the net energy value of cellulosic ethanol to 21.5 MJ/l.