Abstract:The Saccharomyces cerevisiea was immobilized on sugarcane in the absence of physico-chemical external supports and used for the alcohol fermentation of sugarcane juice. The distribution of yeast cells in the inner surfaces of sugarcane was confirmed by SEM. A large number of yeast cells were found to attach to the inner surfaces of sugarcane, among which the immobilized biocatalyst and the free cells were up to 1011 cells/g and 107 cells/mL, respectively. The effects of some inorganic salts, including CaCl2, MgSO4 and KH2PO4, on the immobilized yeast catalyzed fermentation were investigated. It was found that 1.0 g/L CaCl2 and 1.5 g/L KH2PO4 could greatly improve the production rate of CO2 to the highest value, and KH2PO4 could obviously enhance the efficiency of alcohol fermentation.
