Expeditious production of concentrated glucose-rich hydrolysate from sugarcane bagasse and its fermentation to lactic acid with high productivity

Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is anticipated to emerge as a potential threat to waste management in India on account of cheap surplus energy options and lower incentives through its co-generation. Through biotechnological intervention, the efficient utilization of SCB is seen as an opportunity. The present study aimed towards expeditious production of concentrated glucose-rich hydrolysate from SCB. Alkali pretreated biomass was chosen for hydrolysis with a new generation cellulase cocktail, Cellic CTec2 dosed at 25 mg g−1 glucan content. A two-step (9% + 9%) substrate feeding strategy was adopted with a gap of an hour, and saccharification was terminated in three different ways. Irrespective of the methods employed for termination, ∼84.5% cellulose was hydrolyzed releasing ≥100 g L−1 glucose from 18% biomass. Direct use of glucose-rich filtrates yielded 69.2 ± 2.5 g L−1 of L (+) lactic acid (LA) using thermophilic Bacillus coagulans NCIM 5648. The best-attained glucose and LA productivities during separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) in the present study were 5.27 and 2.88 g L−1 h−1, respectively. A green and sustainable process is demonstrated for the production of industrially relevant sugars from SCB at high productivity and its valorization to bio-based LA.