Comparison of Ethanol Production Activities from Mannitol by Yeasts for Ethanol Production from Seaweed

Abstract

To produce ethanol from seaweed, it must be available mannitol to the substrate.

One hundred fifty-five strains of yeast currently stored in Riken Bio Resource Center were investigated to whether they are possible to produce ethanol from mannitol.

As a result, 116 strains produced not less than 0.01% ethanol from 1% of mannitol.

Twenty-three strains produced ethanol of 0.05% or more. Five strains produced more than 0.1% ethanol. The strains with high yield and their ethanol yields were Candida silvanorum and 0.64 (mol-ethanol/mol-mannitol), Ambrosiozyma kamigamensis and 0.56 (mol-ethanol/mol-mannitol), Ambrosiozyma cicatricosa and 0.48 (mol-ethanol/mol-mannitol), Ogataea methanolica and 0.45 (mol-ethanol/mol-mannitol), and Lachancea waltii and 0.42 (mol-ethanol/mol-mannitol), respectively. Because the ethanol yield of the S. cerevisiae BB1 was 0.40 (mol-ethanol/mol-mannitol), the abilities to produce ethanol from mannitol of these strains are probably higher than strain BB1.