초록
<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Sweet sorghum was subjected to an impregnation step, which recovered most of the 1st generation sugars, prior to a steam-treatment extraction of the 2nd generation sugars, at three different severity factors (SF). A medium severity (3.56 SF) treatment proved to be an optimal compromise between the amount of sugars extracted and the fermentation inhibitors generated following the subsequent depolymerization approaches applied on the broth. Next, a series of detoxification approaches (ozonation, overliming and a combination of both) were investigated following a concentration and depolymerization step. Results show that higher steam-treatment severity required more intense detoxification steps. However, when combining the 1st and 2nd generation streams at a 2:1 ratio, the inhibitors did not affect the fermentation process and ethanol yields above 90% of the theoretical maximum were achieved.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> 42.6 wt% of sorghum (DM) was converted into monosaccharides. </LI> <LI> Impact of detoxification on ethanol yields was determined. </LI> <LI> Mixture of 1st and 2nd gen. streams achieved ethanol yields of above 90%. </LI> <LI> No detoxification strategies are required on mixed 1st and 2nd generation streams. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>