KonBioFerm

At the core of this process is the fungus Mucor indicus. It can metabolize a wide range of sugars – including glucose and xylose – and producing large amounts of ethanol with yields comparable to those of traditional producers such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Due to its broad substrate spectrum, a variety of feedstocks can be used, including cereal straw and other lignocellulosic materials. Since Mucor indicus can grow on solid surfaces, continuous fermentation processes can be applied instead of conventional batch processes. This enables the development of a continuous production system in which typical upstream and downstream steps can be eliminated. At the same time, the usual growth phases at the beginning of fermentation are avoided, significantly reducing downtime and substantially increasing overall process productivity. In addition, an active online product separation via gas stripping will be developed to decouple the downstream process from the actual production process. By the end of the project, a process should be available that enables high ethanol production rates over long periods of uninterrupted operation.