Question

Agave biomass is excellent for production of bioethanol and xylitol using bacillus strain 65s3 and pseudomonas strain cds3

Answer 1

A high abundance of cellulose and low content of lignin make Agave americana an ideal feedstock for the biorefining industry. Eighteen cellulose-decomposing bacterial isolates were examined for their ability to decompose agave biomass and production of bioproducts. In agave-agar plate qualitative assay, 3 bacterial strains displayed better hydrolysis ability than the positive control, Cellumonas xylanilytica XIL11. In microplate quantitative assay using 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid as substrate, a Bacillus strain (65S3) and a Pseudomonas strain (CDS3) were found superior for bioethanol and xylitol production. Bioethanol output of 65S3 was as high as 0.92 g/g, while CDS3 degraded agave and produced xylitol as high as 0.98 g/g. Significant structural degrading changes have been observed using scanning electron microscopy, after 14- and 28-day treatments by using CDS3 and 65S3. CDS3 and 65S3 have great potentials in the biorefining industry for the production of value-added bioproducts.