Biobutanol production from sulfuric acid-pretreated red algal biomass by a newly isolated Clostridium sp. strain WK.

Marine biomass, especially the algal biomass, is currently considered to be one of the most potential candidates for biofuels conversion during the development of biomass utilization. In this study, a diluted sulfuric acid pretreatment method was established for biobutanol from red algal biomass Gelidium amansii using a newly isolated Clostridium sp. strain WK. Under the optimal condition of 2% sulfuric acid treated in 20 Min at 131 °C, the maximal hydrolysis percentage of biomass can reach up to 80.95%, and the biobutanol production was obtained to be 3.46 g/L with a yield of 0.20 g/g after the fermentation of biomass hydrolysate. This result demonstrated a 12.5-fold enhancement of conversion efficiency compared with the untreated control, which provides a new and efficient way to develop the biobutanol industry by utilizing the abundant, low cost, and carbohydrate-rich algal biomass.