Ethanol from rice byproduct using amylases secreted by Rhizopus microsporus var. oligosporus. Enzyme partial purification and characterization.

A three-stage bioethanol bioprocess was developed. Firstly, amylases were obtained from Rhizopus microsporus var. oligosporus using wheat bran in solid-state fermentation. Secondly, amylases hydrolyzed a rice byproduct to make a glucose-rich solution, and this sugar was finally metabolized by Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce bioethanol. Besides, the secreted enzymes were also partially purified and characterized. The amylase activity (AA) in the crude extract was 358 U/g substrate, and the partially purified enzyme showed the best activity in the 4.0-5.5 pH range. A wide pH stability range (3.5-8.5) was confirmed. The amylase was thermostable up to 60 °C. The ion Mn (10 mM) improved by 60% the AA. There was a 54.9% yield in the conversion of rice residues into reducing sugars in 10 h. The glucose-rich solution was undergone fermentation by S. cerevisiae and showed high ethanol efficiency, 95.8% of the theoretical value. These results suggested a promising technology for bioethanol production.