Evaluation of the biomass potential for the production of lignocellulosic bioethanol from various agricultural residues in Austria and Worldwide

Diverse reasons like the decrease of fossil fuel reserves or CO₂ reduction are the motivation of intensive research about alternatives for example bioethanol production from biomass, called second generation bioethanol. Wheat straw (Triticum vulgare), rye straw (Secale cereal), oat straw (Avena sativa) and corn stover (Zea mays) were tested for their potential for bioethanol production. The biomass was pretreated, hydrolysed and fermented. The practical and theoretical ethanol yield of each substrate was determined. About 472,000 tons of bioethanol can be produced from these substrates giving the possibility to replace about more than one third of the consumed gasoline in Austria.