Production of Bioethanol From Sugarcane Bagasse: Current Approaches and Perspectives

Abstract As carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration in the atmosphere is enormously increasing, global warming has become one of the most important issues affecting our ecosystem. Exploitation of natural energy resources and the increasing cost of raw materials drive the search for renewable energy sources. Bioethanol is known as an important renewable bioenergy source that may be used to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) and dependency on fossil fuel. Thus bioethanol is regarded as a more environmentally friendly fuel than gasoline. Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is a potentially renewable resource that may be used to produce bioethanol, which is one of the largest cellulosic agro-industrial by-products. Over the last decade many efforts have been made to achieve maximum prehydrolysis and sachharification efficiency to obtain higher yields of fermentable sugar and ethanol from SCB. This article presents a brief overview of bioethanol production from SCB through the biotechnological processes.