Biofuels from important foreign biomasses

The overall aim of the project was to extend our knowledge on bioethanol production to foreign biomasses which has major potential for export of bioethanol technologies. Biomass composition, pre-treatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation were investigated and optimized. Significant discoveries include novel enzymes efficient for biomass hydrolysis which have been patented. Furthermore, valuable methods for real-time measurement of sugar metabolism during yeast fermentation were explored, and yeast strains were developed for increased sugar fermentation. International collaborations have been strengthened since major parts of the research were carried out during phd students’ research stays at Washington State University.