Biobutanol production from pruned vine shoots

Vine shoots were successfully used to produce butanol by ABE fermentation. Biomass pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis were optimised to obtain high sugar concentrations while reducing inhibitor generation. Thirty-one Clostridium strains were compared in order to select the most adequate one for the fermentation of vine shoot hydrolysates. Clostridium beijerinckii CECT 508 produced 7-8 g/L butanol with the only addition of CaCO₃, FeSO₄·7H₂O and NH₄Cl to the hydrolysates. In addition, CaCO₃ could be replaced by eggshell to further reduce reagent costs.