Replacing gasoline with bioethanol has the potential to reduce some undesirable effects such as climate change and depletion of resources. The demand for bioethanol is increasing worldwide on a continuous basis. The production of ethanol from corn feedstock is often viewed as disadvantageous because it leads to increasing price of food. Therefore, the production of ethanol from non-edible biomass as the feedstock has been attracting interest. However, the relatively high cost of production of cellulosic ethanol prevents its use on a wide scale. Paper waste, as feedstock for bioethanol, is more advantageous in terms of seasonality and collection than agricultural and forestry waste. Paper waste has a good potential for cost reduction and enhanced production efficiency. For example, the cost of enzymes used for saccharification of copy paper can be decreased drastically by recycling the enzymes. However, enzyme recycling can be affected by contaminants such as the chemicals used for paper processing and plastics contained in paper waste. In order to commercialize the production of ethanol from paper waste, it is necessary to either develop systems for the segregation and collection of suitable paper waste for enzymatic saccharification or develop techniques to remove the contaminants prior to saccharification.
