Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is anticipated to emerge as a potential threat to waste management in India on account of cheap surplus energy options and lower incentives through its cogeneration. Through biotechnological intervention, the efficient utilization of SCB is seen as an opportunity. The present study aimed towards expeditious production of concentrated glucose-rich hydrolysate from SCB. Alkali pretreated biomass was chosen for hydrolysis with a new generation cellulase cocktail, Cellic CTec2 dosed at 25mg g -1 glucan content. A two-step (9% + 9%) substrate feeding strategy was adopted with a gap of an hour, and saccharification was terminated in three different ways. Irrespective of the methods employed for termination, ~84.5% cellulose was hydrolyzed releasing ≥100 g L -1 glucose from 18% biomass. Direct use of glucose-rich filtrates yielded 69.2 ± 2.5 g L -1 of L (+) lactic acid (LA) using thermophilic Bacillus coagulans NCIM 5648. The best-attained glucose and LA productivities during separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) in the present study were 5.27 and 2.88 g L -1 h -1 , respectively. A green and sustainable process is demonstrated for the production of industrially relevant sugars from SCB at high productivity and its valorization to bio-based LA.
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