To achieve efficient and cost-effective degradation of agricultural and agro-food waste residues, pretreatment is a critical step that significantly affects the final product yield. Advancements in pretreatment strategies have revolutionized the biofuel industry by increasing the porosity of agricultural and agro-food waste residues while reducing cellulose crystallinity, which enhances enzymatic attack and promotes the release of sugars. This study evaluates various pretreatments with an effective enzyme cocktail comprising multiple hydrolytic carbohydrases and their combinations to enhance the yield of fermentable sugars and bioethanol from potato peel waste. The solid-state fermentation of potato peels yielded a multi-enzyme preparation after extraction with distilled water. The preparation included endo-1,4-β-D-glucanase, exo-1,4-β- D-glucanase, β-1,4-glucosidase, endo-β-1,4- xylanase, endo-β-1,4-β- D-mannanase, α-amylase, glucoamylase, and pectinase, as described in a previous study conducted by our laboratory [
21,
35].
3.4. Structural changes in untreated, thermo-acidic pretreatment, thermo-acidic pretreatment followed by enzymatically hydrolyzed samples of potato peels
The untreated potato peel structure was observed to be solid and intact without any visible fragmentation (
Figure 2a). However, when subjected to thermo-acidic pretreatment with enzymatic hydrolysis, the compactness of the structure was disrupted, resulting in the development of cracks and damage to the biomass (
Figure 2b). Moreover, thermo-acidic pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis caused the formation of cavities and crinkles, which more effectively damaged the biomass (
Figure 2c). These structural changes resulted in an increase in exposed surfaces and subsequently, an increase in the availability of cellulose for enzymatic action. This observation aligns with the findings of a previous study conducted by Soltaninejad et al. [
7].
In order to compare the structural properties, an X-ray diffraction (XRD) study was conducted, plotting 2θ versus intensity to identify the peaks of cellulose at approximately 2θ = 26. Upon comparing the peak widths of the samples, it was observed that hydrolysis disrupted the crystalline region of cellulose. The maximum decrease in peak intensity was observed in sample 3 (depicted as red in
Figure 3), which underwent thermo-acidic pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis, indicating a more efficient hydrolysis. Sample 2, which underwent only thermo-acidic pretreatment, showed a narrower peak width and lower intensity reduction compared to sample 3, while sample 1 (untreated potato peels) had the narrowest peak and the lowest intensity reduction (
Figure 3). A significantly wider peak was observed in sample 3 compared to the control and thermo-acidic pretreatment samples, which is consistent with the findings of a similar study conducted by Barampouti et al. [
45] on alkaline pretreated and enzymatically hydrolyzed potato peel waste.
3.5. Fermentation of glucose released from potato peels
The hexose sugars obtained from enzymatic hydrolysis of potato peels were subjected to fermentation with a distiller's strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae HT. The highest ethanol yield was obtained from the enzymatic hydrolysate of potato peels pretreated with 3% H
2SO
4 and steam under pressure, with a concentration of 43.0 g/l and a maximum yield of 215 mg/g (
Figure 4). However, the hydrolysate obtained from the biomass pretreated with 4% H
2SO
4 showed lower fermentation efficiency and ethanol productivity (
Table 4). This may be due to the formation of inhibitory substances during the treatment at high temperatures and acid concentrations, as previously reported in the steam explosion of wheat straw and fermentation of model substrates and hydrolysates by Pichia stipitis [
46]. The severity of sulphuric acid has also been reported to affect sugar yield from spruce (softwood) and the fermentability of the hydrolysate by
Saccharomyces cerevisiae [
47].
Figure 2.
SEM micrographs of untreated (a), thermo-acidic pretreated (b), thermo-acidic pretreated potato peels followed by enzymatic hydrolysis (c).
Figure 2.
SEM micrographs of untreated (a), thermo-acidic pretreated (b), thermo-acidic pretreated potato peels followed by enzymatic hydrolysis (c).
Figure 3.
XRD pattern of untreated (Sample 1), thermo-acidic pretreated (Sample 2), thermo-acidic pretreated potato peels followed by enzymatic hydrolysis (Sample 3).
Figure 3.
XRD pattern of untreated (Sample 1), thermo-acidic pretreated (Sample 2), thermo-acidic pretreated potato peels followed by enzymatic hydrolysis (Sample 3).
The decrease in the yield of monosaccharides coincided with the maximum concentrations of furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). It can be concluded that thermochemical pretreatment of potato peels with 3% sulphuric acid produced maximum reducing sugars and alcohol upon enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. This successful validation highlights the potential of potato peels as an important feedstock for the production of second-generation bioethanol. Procentese et al. [
48] conducted a review of different agricultural and agro-food waste residues, including potato peels, to evaluate their potential as feedstocks for the production of second-generation biofuels such as ethanol and butanol. They estimated the maximum biofuel production rates based on feedstock availability, average composition, and reported yields. The study found that traditional pretreatment methods could contribute up to 32% ethanol and 23% butanol to current European biofuel accounts, while innovative pretreatment methods could increase the contribution to 40% ethanol and 19% butanol. Several studies have also investigated the potential of potato peels for biofuel production, including biogas [
6,
7,
49], bioethanol [
8,
40,
41,
42,
43,
44,
45,
46,
47,
48,
49,
50,
51,
52,
53], and xanthan gum [
7]. Felekis et al. [
8] reported the highest ethanol concentration of 9 ± 0.9 g/l obtained from potato peels pretreated with 1% w/v NaOH for 6 h at 50°C, using commercial enzyme preparations. Achinas et al. [
49] examined the anaerobic digestion of potato peels with and without dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment and found an improvement in biogas production with pretreatment. Soltaninejad et al. [
6] utilized the organosolv pretreatment method for the production of bioethanol and biogas from potato peel waste (PPW). The highest concentration of bioethanol achieved was 18.04 g/l, obtained from PPW pretreated at 180 °C with 75% ethanol and 1% acid. Sivasakthivelan et al. [
49] investigated the optimal conditions for the production of bioethanol using S. cerevisiae. The best conditions for maximum bioethanol concentration (11.46 g/l) were found to be pH 5.5, temperature of 30 °C, inoculation of 8%, substrate concentration of 3%, and a maximum time of 48 h. Atitallah et al. [
51] explored the potential of potato peel waste as a feedstock for bioethanol production through various saccharification and fermentation techniques. Thermal and chemical (acid, alkali) pretreatment, as well as enzymatic hydrolysis using commercial enzymes (cellulase and amylase) and lab-scale-produced enzymes (alpha-amylase from Bacillus sp. Gb67) either alone or in combination, were used for saccharification. The results showed that the use of commercial enzymes led to higher saccharification efficiency (72.38%) and ethanol yield (0.49 g/g consumed sugars). Sansui et al. [
52] studied the effect of metallic oxide nanoparticles on ethanol production from potato peel hydrolysate using Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4743. Fe
3O
4 NPs enhanced ethanol production with a maximum ethanol yield of 0.26 g/g, glucose utilization of 99.95%, and 51% fermentation efficiency. They achieved a maximum ethanol concentration of 5.24 g/l and a maximum production rate of 0.72 g/l/h. Chohan et al. [
53] optimized the production of bioethanol from potato peel waste through simultaneous saccharification and fermentation using inputs such as temperature, pH, and solid loading. They observed a maximum bioethanol concentration of 22.54 g/l and yield of 0.32 g/g under optimal process conditions of 40 °C, pH 5.78, and 12.25% w/v solid loading. Nutrient supplementation can enhance the growth and metabolism of microorganisms involved in the fermentation process and improve alcohol productivity from potato peels.
Studies have explored the impact of nutrient supplementation on ethanol yield, with various nutrients added at different concentrations (
Table 5). Among the positive influencers that improved ethanol production, MgSO
4.7H
2O, (NH
4)
2SO
4, Peptone, (NH
4)
2(HPO
4), (NH
4)(H
2PO
4), KH
2PO
4, K
2HPO
4, and ZnSO
4 showed higher fermentation efficiency of 82.62, 84.60, 86.11, 85.88, 87.23, 86.95, 86.81, and 88.39%, respectively, compared to 81.95% for the control. The effect of nutrient supplementation on ethanol production from different feedstocks has also been investigated by various research groups. For instance, Suriyachai et al. [
54] reported the supplementation of yeast extract (1 g/l), (NH
4)
2SO
4 (5 g/l), and MgSO
4·7H
2O (0.025 g/l) during ethanol production from rice straw using a coculture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Scheffersomyces stipitis, which resulted in ethanol productivity of 28.6 g/l. A recent study investigated the use of ionic liquids to pretreat pine needle biomass for ethanol production via consolidated bioprocessing (CBP). The process involved the use of B. subtilis G2 enzyme preparation in combination with fermentation by S. cerevisiae and P. stipitis at a pH of 5.6. The medium was supplemented with yeast extract (1.5 g/l), peptone (1.0 g/l), (NH
4)
2SO
4 (1.0 g/l), K
2HPO
4 (1.0 g/l), and MgSO
4 (1.0 g/l), and resulted in an ethanol yield of 0.148 g/g after 72 h of fermentation [
55]. Hossain et al. [
56] reported the use of
Wickerhamia sp. for ethanol production from potato peels. The researchers found that supplementation of malt extract, tryptone, and KH
2PO
4 enhanced ethanol production, resulting in a yield of 21.7 g/l at 30°C after 96 h of fermentation. In another study, co-cultures of the yeasts
Saccharomyces cerevisiae and
Pichia stipitis were used to produce ethanol from kitchen waste. The medium was supplemented with KH
2PO
4, MgCl
2.6H
2O, and (NH
4)
2SO
4 at a concentration of 1 g/l each, which resulted in an ethanol productivity of 45.4 g/l at 30°C [
57]. Zhao et al. [
58] utilized corn stalks for ethanol production at 30°C by utilizing engineered S. cerevisiae strains and supplementing with MgSO
4 as a metal ion inducer. They achieved an ethanol yield of 46.87 g/l. Chohan et al. [
53] conducted a study on ethanol production from thermally pretreated potato peels by employing
Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4743 and supplementing with yeast extract, peptone, (NH
4)
2SO
4, KH
2PO
4, and MgSO
4, which resulted in a maximum ethanol productivity of 22.54 g/l.
In the present study, it was found that ZnSO
4 at a concentration of 0.1% w/v with a 20% solid loading was the most effective, resulting in a yield of 48.1 g/l of ethanol with 88.39% fermentation efficiency. Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate at the same concentration also exhibited good results with 46.8 g/l of ethanol. Peptone was also effective, yielding 44.0 g/l of ethanol. The study also attempted different solid loading levels with the supplementation of peptone, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, and ZnSO
4 at 0.1% w/v each, resulting in appreciably good yields of 51.67 g/l (88.7% fermentation efficiency) and 54.75 g/l (87.11% fermentation efficiency). These yields are higher than those reported so far for potato peels or any other substrate used in ethanol production. The study obtained an alcohol concentration of 57.45 g/l with a yield of 0.228 g/g of dry peels (equivalent to 289 l/ton of dry peels; 0.445 g/g consumed sugars) involving a 24% solid loading, which is significantly higher than most recent studies carried out by other researchers, as shown in
Figure 4.
The study found that producing ethanol from potato peel waste using in-house produced enzymes resulted in a production cost of US$ 0.65/l, which is significantly lower than the US$ 1.50/l achieved using commercial enzymes from Advanced Enzymes (India). The results suggest that there is still potential to further improve the yield by utilizing a suitable consortium of hexose and pentose fermenting yeasts.
Figure 4.
Mass balance after thermo-acidic treatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of potato peel waste for ethanol production.
Figure 4.
Mass balance after thermo-acidic treatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of potato peel waste for ethanol production.