Biotechnology Bulletin ›› 2019, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (4): 163-169.doi: 10.13560/j.cnki.biotech.bull.1985.2018-1002

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Current Status and Prospects of Fuel Ethanol Production

CAO Yun-qi, LIU Yun-yun, HU Nan-jiang, HU Xiao-wei, ZHANG Yao, ZHAO Yu, WU Ai-min   

  1. School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering,Shaanxi University of Science & Technology,Xi’an 710021
  • Received:2018-11-22 Online:2019-04-26 Published:2019-05-05

Abstract:

With the rapid development of social economy,problems such as energy shortage and environmental pollutions from the continuous consumption of fossil fuels have been increasingly prominent,thus seeking new green renewable alternative energy sources is imminent. Fuel ethanol,as an excellent fuel quality improver and clean renewable energy with advantages of abundant resources,less carbon deposit and GHG emissions mitigation,has become a green fuel being concerned and widely used at home and abroad. In this paper,the development of fuel ethanol production technology is reviewed via focusing on the source of raw materials,production technologies and the bottlenecks in the production of fuel ethanol in different stages,and the development trend was prospected. At present,production technology for fuel ethanol has mainly undergone three generations of development. The first generation of ethanol fermentation using corn and other food crops rich in sugary and starchy as raw materials has been commercialized,however,this causes food safety issue although the processes are mature. The second generation of ethanol production,using waste plant fibers such as crop straw as raw materials,has already met the industrialization demonstration conditions,and it has the most development prospect with the advantages of broad raw materials and constantly improving transformation technologies. The third generation of fuel ethanol using algae as raw material is in the stage of research and development,and it is the hope for the future energy development. Based on the above discussion of fuel ethanol production,its main technical bottlenecks and development trends are summarized,aiming at providing relevant theoretical basis for the industrialization,economization and sustainable development of fuel ethanol production.

Key words: fuel ethanol, production technology, grain, plant fiber, algae