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conferenceseries
.com
Volume 9
Journal of Biotechnology & Biomaterials
ISSN: 2155-952X
JOINT EVENT
February 28-March 02, 2019 | Berlin, Germany
5
th
International Conference on
Enzymology and Protein Chemistry
&
22
nd
Global Congress on
Biotechnology
Biotechnology 2019
Enzymology 2019
February 28-March 02, 2019
&
Green production of bioethanol using solar steam generated with nanoparticles
Oara Neumann
Rice University, USA
C
onventional bioethanol for transportation fuel typically consumes agricultural feedstocks also suitable for human
consumption and requires large amounts of energy for conversion of feedstock to fuel. Alternative feedstocks, optimally
those not also in demand for human consumption, and off-grid energy sources for processing, would both contribute to making
bioethanol far more sustainable than current practices. Cellulosic bioethanol production involves three steps: the extraction
of sugars from cellulosic feedstock, the fermentation of sugars to produce ethanol, and the purification of ethanol through
distillation. Traditional production methods for extraction and distillation are energy intensive and therefore costly, limiting
the advancement of this approach. Here we report an initial demonstration of the conversion of cellulosic feedstock into
ethanol by completely off-grid solar processing steps. Our approach is based on nanoparticle-enabled solar steam generation,
where high-efficiency steam can be produced by illuminating light-absorbing nanoparticles dispersed in H
2
O with sunlight.
We used solar-generated steam to successfully hydrolyze feedstock into sugars, then used solar steam distillation to purify
ethanol in the final processing step. Coastal hay, a grass grown for livestock feed across the southern U. S., and sugar cane as
a control, are successfully converted to ethanol in this proof-of-concept study. This entirely off-grid solar production method
has the potential to realize the long-dreamed-of goal of sustainable cellulosic bioethanol production.
Biography
Oara Neumann is the Peter M and Ruth L Nicholas Research Scientist at Rice University (a fully funded, endowed research scientist position at the university).
She has completed her PhD and Postdoctoral study in Applied Physics at Rice University, MSc in Chemical Physics at Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel and
another MSc in Analytical Chemistry from Bucharest University, Romania. She is the Pioneer of nanoparticle-based solar thermal applications. She holds several
patents and has published more than 25 refereed articles and has an h-index of 16.
on4166@rice.eduOara Neumann, J Biotechnol Biomater 2019, Volume 9
DOI: 10.4172/2155-952X-C2-115