Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of very high gravity (VHG) potato mash for the production of ethanol

Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of very high gravity (VHG) potato mash, containing 304 g L^?1 of dissolved carbohydrates, was carried out for ethanol production. Potato tubers were ground into a mash, which was highly viscous. Mash viscosity was reduced by the pretreatment with mixed enzyme preparations of pectinase, cellulase and hemicellulase. The enzymatic pretreatment established the use of VHG mash with a suitable viscosity. Starch in the pretreated mash was liquefied to maltodextrins by the action of thermo-stable α-amylase at 85 °C. SSF of liquefied mash was performed at 30 °C with the simultaneous addition of glucoamylase, yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and ammonium sulfate as a nitrogen source for the yeast. The optimal glucoamylase loading, ammonium sulfate concentration and fermentation time were 1.65 AGU g^?1, 30.2 mM and 61.5 h, respectively, obtained using the response surface methodology (RSM). Ammonium sulfate supplementation was necessary to avoid stuck fermentation under VHG condition. Using the optimized condition, ethanol yield of 16.61% (v/v) was achieved, which was equivalent to 89.7% of the theoretical yield.     

Arrowroot as a novel substrate for ethanol production by solid state simultaneous saccharification and fermentation

Ethanol production from Canna edulis Ker was successfully carried out by solid state simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. The enzymatic hydrolysis conditions of C. edulis were optimized by Plackett–Burman design. The effect of inert carrier (corncob and rice bran) on ethanol fermentation and the kinetics of solid state simultaneous saccharification and fermentation was investigated. It was found that C. edulis was an alternative substrate for ethanol production, 10.1% (v/v) of ethanol concentration can attained when 40 g corncob and 10 g rice bran per 100 g C. edulis powder were added for ethanol fermentation. No shortage of fermentable sugars was observed during solid state simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. There was no wastewater produced in the process of ethanol production from C. edulis with solid state simultaneous saccharification and fermentation and the ethanol yield of more than 0.28 tonne per one tonne feedstock was achieved. This is first report for ethanol production from C. edulis powder.     

Modeling semi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of ethanol production from cellulose

Using a highly refined standard cellulose (microcrystalline cellulose, (Avicel PH101)), the kinetics of the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of cellulose to ethanol was studied with a prior hydrolysis phase (semi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSSF)) conducted under optimal conditions for enzymatic hydrolysis. Four cases have been studied: 24-h pre-hydrolysis + 48-h SSF (SSSF 24), 12-h pre-hydrolysis + 60-h SSF (SSSF 12), 72-h SSF, and 48-h hydrolysis + 24-h fermentation. SSSF 24 produced higher yield and higher productivity of ethanol than the other operating modes. A coupled set of differential equations were developed to describe the change rates of cellobiose, glucose, microorganism, ethanol, glycerol, acetic acid, and lactic acid concentrations in the batch operation of separate hydrolysis and SSF of ethanol production from Avicel PH101. The model parameters were determined by a MATLAB program based on the batch experimental data of the SSSF. The analysis of the reaction rates of cellobiose, glucose, cell, and ethanol using the model showed that the conversion of cellulose to cellobiose was the rate-controlling step in the SSSF process of ethanol production from cellulose. The batch SSSF model was extended to the continuous and fed-batch operating modes. For the continuous operation in the SSSF, the productivity of SSSF 24 was much higher than that of SSSF 12 though the ethanol concentrations of both cases have not a great difference.     

餐厨废弃物糖化发酵炼制燃料乙醇工艺优化

利用高效液化酶(Liquozyme)和糖化酶(AMG)对餐厨废弃物进行液化糖化,优化了酶组成、加酶量、pH、操作温度、操作时间、酵母接种量等参数,建立了由餐厨废弃物炼制燃料乙醇的最佳工艺。结果表明:通过液化酶和糖化酶复配,可降低原料粘度、提高传质效率,使淀粉类多糖快速转化为可发酵性单糖;液化酶最优作用条件为85℃,pH值5.1~5.2,加酶量为0.75 U/g(干基),液化时间为40 min;糖化酶最优作用条件为45℃,pH值5.0,加酶量0.5 U/g(干基),糖化时间为30 min;最佳的发酵条件是酵母接种量3 g/L,发酵时间20 h,所得乙醇浓度为54 g/L,相当于0.438 g/g(乙醇/葡萄糖),达到理论产量的86%。     

Evaluation of fuel ethanol production from aqueous ammonia-treated rice straw via simultaneous saccharification and fermentation

Rice straw (RS) has been considered a promising feedstock for ethanol production in Asia. However, the recalcitrance of biomass, particularly the presence of lignin, hinders the enzymatic saccharification of polysaccharides in RS and consequently decreases the ethanol yield. Here, we used aqueous ammonia pretreatment to remove lignin from RS (aRS). The reaction conditions were a solid:liquid ratio of 1:12, an ammonia concentration of 27% (w w⁻¹), room temperature, and a 2-week incubation. We evaluated enzymatic digestibility and the ethanol production yield. A 42% reduction in lignin content increased the glucan conversion of aRS to glucose from 20 to 71% using a combination of Cellic Ctec2 cellulases and Cellic Htec2 xylanases at enzyme loads of 15 FPU +100 XU g⁻¹ solid. Scanning electron microscopy highlighted the extensive removal of external fibres and increased porosity of aRS, which aided the accessibility of cellulose for enzymes. Using the same enzyme dosage and a solid load of 100 g L⁻¹, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation using a monoculture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and co-culture with Candida tropicalis yielded ethanol concentrations of 22 and 25 g L⁻¹, corresponding to fermentation efficiencies of 96 and 86% fermentation, respectively. The volumetric ethanol productivities for these systems were 0.45 and 0.52 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹. However, the ethanol yield based on the theoretical glucose and xylose concentrations was lower for the co-culture (0.44 g g⁻¹) than the monoculture (0.49 g g⁻¹) due to the low xylose consumption. Further research should optimise fermentation variables or select/improve microbial strains capable of fermenting xylose to increase the overall ethanol production yield.     

Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of cellulose for bio-hydrogen production by anaerobic mixed cultures in elephant dung

The objective of this study was to optimize the culture conditions for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of cellulose for bio-hydrogen production by anaerobic mixed cultures in elephant dung under thermophilic temperature. Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was used as the model substrate. The investigated parameters included initial pH, temperature and substrate concentration. The experimental results showed that maximum hydrogen yield (HY) and hydrogen production rate (HPR) of 7.22 ± 0.62 mmol H₂/g CMC_added and 73.4 ± 3.8 mL H₂/L h, respectively, were achieved at an initial pH of 7.0, temperature of 55 °C and CMC concentration of 0.25 g/L. The optimum conditions were then used to produce hydrogen from the cellulose fraction of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) at a concentration of 0.40 g/L (equivalent to 0.25 g/L cellulose) in which an HY of 7.10 ± 3.22 mmol H₂/g cellulose_added. The pre-dominant hydrogen producers analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) were Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum and Clostridium sp. The lower HY obtained when the cellulose fraction of SCB was used as the substrate might be due to the presence of lignin in the SCB as well as the presence of Lactobacillus parabuchneri and Lactobacillus rhamnosus in the hydrogen fermentation broth.     

Optimization of very high gravity fermentation process for ethanol production from industrial sugar beet syrup

In order to reduce production costs and environmental impact of bioethanol from sugar beet low purity syrup 2, an intensification of the industrial alcoholic fermentation carried out by Saccharomyces cerevisiae is necessary. Two fermentation processes were tested: multi-stage batch and fed-batch fermentations with different operating conditions. It was established that the fed-batch process was the most efficient to reach the highest ethanol concentration. This process allowed to minimize both growth and ethanol production inhibitions by high sugar concentrations or ethanol. Thus, a good management of the operating conditions (initial volume and feeding rate) could produce 15.2% (v/v) ethanol in 53 h without residual sucrose and with an ethanol productivity of 2.3 g L h⁻¹.     

Effect of nutrient supplementation on ethanol production in different strategies of saccharification and fermentation from acid pretreated rice straw

The effect of nutrient supplementation on ethanol production by recently selected thermotolerant yeast (Kluyveromyces marxianus NRRL Y-6860) was investigated in different strategies of saccharification and fermentation employing rice straw pretreated by dilute acid. Among the evaluated strategies, similar ethanol yields (Y_P/S ∼ 0.23 g g⁻¹) were obtained with or without nutrient addition. However, considering the whole process time, the strategy based on simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF), without pre-hydrolysis, was assigned as the most suitable configuration due to the highest ethanol volumetric productivity (1.4 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹), about 2-fold higher in relation to the others. The impact of enzymatic preparation employed in this study was also evaluated on glucose fermentation in semi-synthetic medium. The enzymatic preparation affected both glucose consumption and ethanol production by K. marxianus NRRL Y-6860, but just in the absence of nutrients. Therefore, the enzyme type and loading should be carefully defined, not only by the capital costs involved, but also by the possibility of increasing the fermentation inhibitors.     

Hydrogen production from simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of lignocellulosic materials in a dual-chamber microbial electrolysis cell

In this work, a dual-chamber microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) with concentric cylinders was fabricated to investigate hydrogen production of three different lignocellulosic materials via simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). The maximal hydrogen production rate (HPR) was 2.46 mmol/L/D with an energy recovery efficiency of 215.33 % and a total energy conversion efficiency of 11.29 %, and the maximal hydrogen volumetric yield was 28.67 L/kg from the mixed substrate. The concentrations of reducing sugar and organic acids, the pH, and the current in the MEC system during hydrogen production were monitored. The concentrations of reducing sugar, butyrate, lactate, formate, and acetate initially increased during SSF and then decreased due to hydrogen production. Moreover, the highest current was obtained from the mixed substrate, which means that the mixed substrates are beneficial to microbial growth and metabolism. These results suggest that lignocellulosic materials can be used as substrate in a low-energy-input dual-chamber MEC system for hydrogen production.     

Covalent immobilization of enzymes and yeast: Towards a continuous simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process for cellulosic ethanol

The immobilization of enzymes and yeast cells is a key factor for establishing a continuous process of cellulosic ethanol production, which can combine the benefits of a separated hydrolysis and fermentation process and a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process. This paper investigates the use of cellulase enzyme and yeast cell immobilization under a flow regime of ethanol production from soluble substrates such as cellobiose and carboxymethyl cellulose. The immobilization was achieved by incubating enzymes and yeast cells on polystyrene surfaces which had been treated by nitrogen ion implantation. The saccharification by immobilized enzymes and the fermentation by immobilized yeast cells were conducted in two separate vessels connected by a pump. During the experiments, glucose concentrations were always maintained at low levels which potentially reduce product inhibition effects on the enzymes. Covalent immobilization of enzymes and yeast cells on the plasma treated polymer reduces loss by shear flow induced detachment. The potential for continuous flow production of ethanol and the influence of daughter yeast cells in the circulating flow on the immobilized enzyme activity are discussed.     

Alkali-stable cellulase from a halophilic isolate,Gracilibacillus sp. SK1 and its application in lignocellulosic saccharification for ethanol production

A halophilic strain SK1 showing cellulolytic activity was isolated from Yuncheng Salt Lake, and was identified as the genus of Gracilibacillus by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Cellulase production was strongly influenced by the salinity of culture medium with maximal level in the presence of 10% NaCl. Substrate specificity test indicated the crude cellulase was a multi-component enzyme system, showing a combined activity of endoglucanase, exoglucanase and β-glucosidase. Zymogram analysis indicated six different endoglucanases were secreted by this strain. The crude enzyme was highly active and stable over broad ranges of temperature (40–70 °C), pH (6.0–10.0) and NaCl concentration (7.5–17.5%), with an optimum at 60 °C, pH 8.0 and 12.5% NaCl, which showed excellent thermostable, alkali-stable and halostable properties. Moreover, it displayed high stability in the presence of hydrophobic organic solvents. Saccharification of corn stover and rice straw by the cellulase resulted in respective yields of 0.678 and 0.502 g g⁻¹ dry substrate of reducing sugars. The enzymatic hydrolysates of corn stover were then used as the substrate for ethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The yield of ethanol was 0.186 g g⁻¹ dry substrate, and the efficiency of reducing sugars conversion to ethanol was about 52.8%, which suggested the prospects of the crude enzyme from Gracilibacillus sp. SK1 in application for bio-ethanol production.     

Optimizing peracetic acid pretreatment conditions for improved simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF) of sugar cane bagasse to ethanol fuel

The use of several lignocellulosic materials for ethanol fuel production has been studied exhaustively in the U.S.A.. Strong environmental legislation has been driving efforts by enterprises, state agencies, and universities to make ethanol from biomass economically viable. Production costs for ethanol from biomass have been decreasing year by year as a consequence of this massive effort. Pretreatment, enzyme recovery, and development of efficient microorganisms are some promising areas of study for reducing process costs.Sugar cane bagasse constitutes the most important lignocellulosic material to be considered in Brazil as new technology such as the production of ethanol fuel. At present, most bagasse is burned, and because of its moisture content, has a low value fuel. Ethanol production would result in a value-added product. The bagasse is available at the sugar mill site at no additional cost because harvesting, transportation and storage costs are borne by the sugar production.The present paper presents an alternative pretreatment with low energy input where biomass is treated in a silo type system without need for expensive capitalization. Experimentally, ground sugar cane bagasse is placed in plastic bags and a peracetic acid solution is added to the biomass at concentrations of 0, 6, 9, 15, 21, 30, and 60% w/w of peracetic acid based on oven dried biomass. The ratio of solution to wood is 6:1; a seven day storage period had been used. Tests using hydrolyzing enzymes as an indicator for SSCF have been performed to evaluate the pretreatment efficiency.As an auxiliary method, a series of pre-pretreatments using stoichiometric amounts of sodium hydroxide and ammonium hydroxide based on 4-methyl-glucuronic acid and acetate content in the sugar cane bagasse have been performed before addition of peracetic acid. The alkaline solutions are added to the raw bagasse in a ratio of 17:1 solution to biomass and mixed for 24 hours at room temperature. Biomass is filtered and washed to a neutral pH before the peracetic acid addition.According to enzymatic hydrolysis results, peracetic acid is a powerful chemical for improving enzymatic digestibility in sugar cane bagasse with no need for using high temperatures. Basic pre-pretreatments are helpful in reducing peracetic acid requirements in the pretreatment.     

Simultaneous hydrogen and ethanol production from a mixture of glucose and xylose using extreme thermophiles I: Effect of substrate and pH

The simultaneous hydrogen and ethanol production from glucose and xylose was investigated. The effect of carbon sources on hydrogen and ethanol production was examined in batches. When the substrate concentration was increased from 1 g/L to 7 g/L, the hydrogen yield decreased from 0.74 mol/mol to 0.15 mol/mol and from 0.67 mol/mol to 0.07 mol/mol for glucose and xylose. The highest ethanol yield of 1.19 mol/(mol·glucose) was obtained at 5 g/L glucose and 6 g/L xylose concentrations. For the co-fermentation of glucose and xylose, the highest ethanol yield 1.54 mol/(mol·hexose) was obtained at 2.5 g/L glucose to 2.5 g/L xylose (1:1). However, the hydrogen yield was not significantly affected by the glucose to xylose ratio. Continuous co-fermentation of glucose and xylose by extreme thermophiles was successfully demonstrated using an upflow anaerobic reactor. The hydrogen production rate, the ethanol concentration, and the substrate degradation efficiency increased along with pH. The optimal pH for the continuous mode was determined to be in the range of 5.8–6.6.     

Simultaneous hydrogen and ethanol production from a mixture of glucose and xylose using extreme thermophiles II: Effect of hydraulic retention time

In this study, biofuels (hydrogen and ethanol) fermentation from glucose and xylose by extreme thermophiles in an Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Bed (UASB) reactor was successfully demonstrated. Autoclaved methanogenic granules were used as carriers for the extreme thermophiles. High yields of hydrogen and ethanol were achieved at various HRTs from 24 h to 6 h. The highest hydrogen production rate of 121 ± 23 mL/(L h) and highest ethanol production rate of 6.7 ± 1.2 mmol/(L h) were observed at HRT = 12 h. The highest simultaneous hydrogen and ethanol yields were 0.58 ± 0.11 mol H₂/(mol hexose) and 0.72 ± 0.13 mol ethanol/(mol hexose), reaching a total energy yield of 1151 kJ/mol hexose. The substrate conversion efficiency was maintained over 90% at three HRTs (24, 18, and 12 h).     

Light fermentation of dark fermentation effluent for bio-hydrogen production by different Rhodobacter species at different initial volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations

Three different Rhodobacter sphaeroides (RS) strains (RS–NRRL, RS–DSMZ and RS–RV) and their combinations were used for light fermentation of dark fermentation effluent of ground wheat containing volatile fatty acids (VFA). In terms of cumulative hydrogen formation, RS–NRRL performed better than the other two strains producing 48 ml H₂ in 180 h. However, RS–RV resulted in the highest hydrogen yield of 250 ml H₂ g⁻¹ TVFA. Specific hydrogen production rate (SHPR) with the RS–NRRL was also better in comparison to the others (13.8 ml H₂ g⁻¹ biomass h⁻¹). When combinations of those three strains were used, RS–RV + RS–DSMZ resulted in the highest cumulative hydrogen formation (90 ml H₂ in 330 h). However, hydrogen yield (693 ml H₂ g⁻¹ TVFA) and SHPR (12.1 ml H₂ g⁻¹ biomass h⁻¹) were higher with the combination of the three different strains. On the basis of Gompertz equation coefficients mixed culture of the three different strains gave the highest cumulative hydrogen and formation rate probably due to synergistic interaction among the strains. The effects of initial TVFA and NH₄–N concentrations on hydrogen formation were investigated for the mixed culture of the three strains. The optimum TVFA and NH₄–N concentrations maximizing the hydrogen formation were determined as 2350 and 47 mg L⁻¹, respectively.     

Repeated batch fermentation for photo-hydrogen and lipid production from wastewater of a sugar manufacturing plant

Hydrogen and lipid production from sugar manufacturing plant wastewater (SMW) by Rhodobacter sp. KKU-PS1 were investigated. Aji-L (i.e., a waste from the process of crystallizing monosodium glutamate) was used as nitrogen source. Batch fermentation was conducted in 300 mL serum bottles with the working volume of 180 mL to investigate the optimal inoculum size by varying the initial inoculum concentration from 0.23 to 0.92 g_CDW/L. The photo-fermentation was conducted at an initial pH 7.0 and 25.6 °C with continuously light illumination at 7500 lux. The optimal inoculum size of 0.77 g_CDW/L gave the hydrogen production rate (R_m) and lipid production of 5.24 mL H₂/L.h and 407 mg lipid/L, respectively. The hydrogen production from SMW was further examined in 1.7-L photo-bioreactor with the working volume of 1.2-L using the optimal condition from batch experiment. A photo-bioreactor yielded 1.73 times higher R_m than that obtained from the fermentation in serum bottles with a greater lipid production of 424 mg lipid/L. Hydrogen production from SMW in the repeated-batch fermentation was further studied by varying the medium replacement ratios of 25, 50–75%. A maximum biomass and lipid concentration of 2.83 g_CDW/L and 685 mg lipid/L, respectively were achieved at a medium replacement ratio of 75%. C18:1 (51.2%), C18:0 (24.9%) and C16:0 (9.1%) were found as the major free fatty acid. Lactic acid followed by propionic, acetic and butyric acids containing in SMW were the suitable carbon source for biomass production of KKU-PS1.     

Biohydrogen production from household solid waste (HSW) at extreme-thermophilic temperature (70 °C) – Influence of pH and acetate concentration

Hydrogen production from household solid waste (HSW) was performed via dark fermentation by using an extreme-thermophilic mixed culture, and the effect of pH and acetate on the biohydrogen production was investigated. The highest hydrogen production yield was 257 ± 25 mL/gVS_added at the optimum pH of 7.0. Acetate was proved to be inhibiting the dark fermentation process at neutral pH, which indicates that the inhibition was caused by total acetate concentration not by undissociated acetate. Initial inhibition was detected at acetate concentration of 50 mM, while the hydrogen fermentation was seriously inhibited at acetate concentration of 200 mM. At 200 mM acetate concentration, the hydrogen yield was 36 ± 25 mL/gVS_added, which was almost 7 times lower than the yield of 254 ± 13 mL/gVS_added, which was achieved at lower acetate concentration (5–25 mM). Additional to the negative effect on the hydrogen yield, acetate was resulting in the longer lag phase during batch fermentations. The lag phase was more than 100 h at acetate concentration of more than 150 mM, while it was only 3–4 h at 5–25 mM acetate.     

Bioelectrochemical systems for simultaneously production of methane and acetate from carbon dioxide at relatively high rate

This study describes the performance of bioelectrochemical systems, based on electrochemically active mixed culture, capable of reducing CO₂ to CH₄ and CH₃COOH via direct and/or indirect extracellular electron transfer. The metabolic pathway and end products of this mixed culture were highly dependent on the set cathode potentials. Only CH₄ and H₂ were produced when the cathode potentials were set in the range from −850 to −950 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl). At potentials more negative than −950 mV, CH₄, H₂ and CH₃COOH were simultaneously produced. With a relatively large cathode surface area of 49 cm⁻², CH₄ and CH₃COOH were produced at high rates of 129.32 mL d⁻¹ and 94.73 mg d⁻¹, respectively (at potential of −1150 mV). The highest current capture efficiency reached to 97% in batch potentiostatic experiments. These results presented here suggest that mixed culture show the ability to directly accept electrons from the electrode and abiotically produce H₂ to convert CO₂ into various organic compounds.     

Highly efficient steam reforming of ethanol (SRE) over CeOx grown on the nano NixMgyO matrix: H2 production under a high GHSV condition

Steam reforming of ethanol (SRE) over non‐noble metal catalysts is normally conducted at high temperature (>600°C) to thermodynamically favour the catalytic process and carbon deposition mitigation. However, high temperature inhibits water‐gas shift reaction (WGSR) and therefore restrains the yield of H₂ and leads to the formation of an excessive amount of CO. The modification of non‐noble metal catalyst to enhance WGSR is an attractive alternative. In this study, CeO_x was firstly loaded onto a nano‐scaled Ni_xMg_yO matrix and subsequently used as the catalyst for hydrogen production via SRE. Morphology of the catalyst materials was characterized by using a series of technologies, while H₂‐temperature programmed reduction (H₂‐TPR), CO‐temperature programmed deposition (CO‐TPD), and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), were employed to study the surface nickel, ceria clusters, and their interactions. The catalytic activity and durability of the catalyst were studied in the temperature region of 500°C to 800°C. The CeO_x‐coated nano Ni_xMg_yO matrix exhibited an outstanding hydrogen yield of 4.82 mol/mol_ethanol under a high gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 200 000 hour^?1. It is found that the unique Ni⁰‐CeO_x structure facilitates the adsorption of CO on the surface and therefore promotes the effective hydrogen production via WGSR. Moreover, this modified Ni_xMg_yO matrix was found to be a more robust and anticoking nanocatalyst because of reversible switch between Ce⁴⁺ and Ce³⁺.     

Absorption enhanced reforming of light alcohols (methanol and ethanol) for the production of hydrogen: Thermodynamic modeling

Thermodynamic modeling of the steam reforming of light alcohols using CaO, CaO*MgO, Na₂ZrO₃, Li₂ZrO₃ and Li₄SiO₄ as CO₂ absorbents was carried out to determine promising operating conditions to produce a high hydrogen yield (YH₂)$\left(Y_{{\text{H}}_2}\right)$ and concentration (% H₂). Ethanol and methanol were studied at 300–800 °C and 1 atm. Steam to alcohol (S/COH) feed molar ratio varied from 1:1 (stoichiometric) to 6:1 for methanol and from 3:1 (stoichiometric) to 6:1 for ethanol. Thermodynamic simulations employed the Gibbs free energy minimization technique. Results indicate no carbon formation at S/COH ≤ stoichiometric. For both alcohols reforming at 600 °C and S/COH = 6, using CaO, CaO*MgO, and Na₂ZrO₃ produced optimal YH₂$Y_{{\text{H}}_2}$ and hydrogen purity (% H₂). In both reforming systems most favorable thermodynamics were obtained with CaO, CaO*MgO and Na₂ZrO₃ as absorbents. A Thermal efficiency analysis performed in all system confirmed the superiority of the CO₂ absorption systems against conventional reforming processes.