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Sustainability
Volume 17
Issue 24
10.3390/su172411287
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Effect of Steam Explosion Pretreatment on Improving Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Alcoholic Fermentation of Corn Stover

by
Fernanda Airoldi Colombo
1,
Pedro Assini
1,
Alex Schulz
1,
Crisleine Perinazzo Draszewski
1,
Francisco Dalcin Vezaro
1,
Alice Penteado Holkem
2,
Michel Brondani
1,
Erico Marlon de Moraes Flores
2,
Raquel Cristine Kuhn
3 and
Flávio Dias Mayer
1,*
1
Laboratory of Biomass and Biofuels (L2B), Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000, Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria 97105-900, Brazil
2
Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000, Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria 97105-900, Brazil
3
Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Santa Maria, 1000, Roraima Avenue, Santa Maria 97105-900, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2025, 17(24), 11287; https://doi.org/10.3390/su172411287
Submission received: 21 October 2025 / Revised: 1 December 2025 / Accepted: 5 December 2025 / Published: 16 December 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Renewable Energy Technologies for Energy Transition)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Corn stover (CS) is a promising feedstock for producing fermentable sugars (FS) and ethanol due to its high holocellulose content. This study investigated the enhancement of FS production via enzymatic hydrolysis (EH) following steam explosion (SE) pretreatment of CS, aiming to improve ethanol yields through alcoholic fermentation. SE was conducted at 160 °C, 180 °C, and 200 °C for 2.5 and 10 min. EH was performed using 15 and 30 filter paper unit (FPU) enzyme loadings and 1% and 2% (w/w) substrate concentrations, applied to both untreated CS and pretreated CS (PCS). Fermentations with Saccharomyces cerevisiae were carried out at 30 °C and 120 rpm. The optimal SE condition (200 °C, 10 min) yielded 4.25 g of total sugars per 100 g CS. Under 30 FPU and 2% PCS, EH yielded 41.57 g/100 g PCS and 18.51 g/100 g CS. The combined SE + EH process reached 45.82 g/100 g PCS, about 2.5 times more than EH alone. The highest ethanol concentration and production rate were 15.54 g/L and 1.30 g/L·h, with a yield of 0.47 g/g. Under optimal conditions, fermentation achieved a conversion efficiency of 92.33%.
Keywords: biomass; hydrothermal process; inhibitors; cellulosic ethanol biomass; hydrothermal process; inhibitors; cellulosic ethanol

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MDPI and ACS Style

Airoldi Colombo, F.; Assini, P.; Schulz, A.; Perinazzo Draszewski, C.; Vezaro, F.D.; Penteado Holkem, A.; Brondani, M.; de Moraes Flores, E.M.; Kuhn, R.C.; Dias Mayer, F. Effect of Steam Explosion Pretreatment on Improving Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Alcoholic Fermentation of Corn Stover. Sustainability 2025, 17, 11287. https://doi.org/10.3390/su172411287

AMA Style

Airoldi Colombo F, Assini P, Schulz A, Perinazzo Draszewski C, Vezaro FD, Penteado Holkem A, Brondani M, de Moraes Flores EM, Kuhn RC, Dias Mayer F. Effect of Steam Explosion Pretreatment on Improving Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Alcoholic Fermentation of Corn Stover. Sustainability. 2025; 17(24):11287. https://doi.org/10.3390/su172411287

Chicago/Turabian Style

Airoldi Colombo, Fernanda, Pedro Assini, Alex Schulz, Crisleine Perinazzo Draszewski, Francisco Dalcin Vezaro, Alice Penteado Holkem, Michel Brondani, Erico Marlon de Moraes Flores, Raquel Cristine Kuhn, and Flávio Dias Mayer. 2025. "Effect of Steam Explosion Pretreatment on Improving Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Alcoholic Fermentation of Corn Stover" Sustainability 17, no. 24: 11287. https://doi.org/10.3390/su172411287

APA Style

Airoldi Colombo, F., Assini, P., Schulz, A., Perinazzo Draszewski, C., Vezaro, F. D., Penteado Holkem, A., Brondani, M., de Moraes Flores, E. M., Kuhn, R. C., & Dias Mayer, F. (2025). Effect of Steam Explosion Pretreatment on Improving Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Alcoholic Fermentation of Corn Stover. Sustainability, 17(24), 11287. https://doi.org/10.3390/su172411287

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