Utilization of cotton stalk waste for sustainable isopropanol production via hydrolysis and coculture fermentation

The present investigation focused on isopropanol production from lignocellulosic cotton stalk biomass (CSB) using conventional pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation methods. In comparison to alkaline (NaOH) pretreatment, dilute sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄) pretreatment showed higher cellulose exposure (448.5 mg/g). Further, ultrasono assisted acid and alkali pretreatment was performed for maximum exposure of cellulose and it was found 616.9 and 586.15 mg/g respectively. Chemical pretreated CSB was additionally exposed to independent enzymatic hydrolysis using commercial enzymes (Celluclast and Viscozymes) following Response Surface Methodology (RSM), which revealed a maximal production of glucose and xylose yield (544.6 mg/g and 41.8 mg/g). Pretreated and enzymatic hydrolyzed cotton stalk biomass at various conditions were analysed using SEM, FTIR, and XRD to determine the structural and functional changes. Further, a co-culture strategy was employed on pretreated and hydrolyzed CSB using two fermented yeast strains (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris) for isopropanol production. HR-MS analysis revealed that the maximum concentration of isopropanol (126.228 mM) was produced in 2:1 proportionate ratio of two fermented yeasts with 20 g/L of substrate loadings at 72 h of incubation time. These results indicate that the production of isopropanol (7.46 g/L) from CSB with different parametric conditions is an encouraging step and can be exploited further for various industrial applications.