The crop (corn) can produce ethanol through fermentation, but
the ligno-cellulosic part of the corn plant requires a more involved
process through gasification or hydrolysis. The use of such food
stock for energy production, however, may not be sustainable as
it diverts cereal from the traditional grain market to the energy
market, with economic, social, and political consequences. Efforts
are thus being made to produce more ethanol from nonfood resources
like ligno-cellulosic materials such that the world’s food
supply is not strained by its energy hunger [2]. Cellulosic plant
material represents an as-of-yet untapped source of fermentable
sugars for significant industrial use [5].