Simultaneous saccharification/fermentation with Zymomonas mobilis

In recent years, an ethanol production process has been developed which utilizes Trichoderma reesei cellulase and Candida brassicae IFO 1664 in the simultaneous saccharification/fermentation (SSF) of cellulose to ethanol. The direct production of ethanol from cellulose in an SSF process alleviates the problem of end production inhibition. Glucose does not accumulate in this system, but rather is fermented to ethanol immediately following saccharification. The result is an increase in yield of 25% or greater as compared with separate processes of saccharification and fermentation. An alternative organisms which might be used in place of yeasts in ethanol production processes is Zymomonas mobilis. The optimum temperature for hydrolysis of cellulose by Trichoderma reesei cellulases is 50/sup 0/C. Since this hydrolysis is the rate limiting step in the SSF process, it is advantageous to utilize the most temperature tolerant ethanol producer available. Candida brassicae is currently the organism of choice due to its ability to produce ethanol efficiently at 40/sup 0/C. This investigation reports on the screening of Zymomonas strains and evaluating the feasibility of utilizing the most temperature tolerant strain in place of C. brassicae in SSF.