Bioconversion of Cotton Gin Waste to Bioethanol

Huge quantity of cotton gin waste is generated in cotton ginning industry. Due to stringent environment regulations, the disposal of this waste is one of the biggest problems faced by cotton industries all over the world. Cotton gin waste is a lignocellulosic biomass and thus can be utilized to produce bioethanol which is a promising alternative energy source. However, there are three major challenging steps involved in its conversion, namely, pretreatment (or delignification), hydrolysis, and fermentation. Biological conversion processes using engineered microbes are beneficial in tackling some of the problems involved in producing bioethanol from lignocellulosic waste. The present review explores the potential microbial strains for different conversion processes and methods for production of bioethanol from cotton gin waste in a cost-effective manner.