Direct ethanol production from starch and kitchen waste by the white rot fungus Trametes versicolor

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24510099
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Environmental technology/Environmental materials
• Research Institution: Tottori University
• Principal Investigator: OKAMOTO Kenji 鳥取大学, 工学(系)研究科(研究院), 准教授 (80283969)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: バイオマス / 食品廃棄物 / エタノール

Outline of Final Research Achievements

A few wood-decaying basidiomycetes isolated from nature produced ethanol from xylose, glucose, mannose, cellobiose, and maltose with relatively high yields. The white rot fungus Trametes versicolor was capable of directly fermenting various types of starches, including corn, potato, rice, and wheat starches. The fungus also directly converted untreated kitchen waste to ethanol in the absence of externally added enzymes or nitrogen. Our findings indicate that T. versicolor efficiently hydrolyzes biomass to fermentable sugars and directly converts them to ethanol, and may permit cost-effective and environmental friendly bioethanol production from various starting materials, including kitchen waste.

Free Research Field

応用微生物学