In this investigation, nanofiltration was applied to ethanol fermentation
of dilute acid-pretreated rice straw. Three membranes,
NTR-729HF, NTR-7250, and ESNA3, were demonstrated to remove
water, concentrate sugars preferentially, and pass through ethanol
fermentation inhibitors using relatively low pressure (1.5–
2.0 MPa). As a result, ethanol production (from 2.75 to 5.34–
6.44 g L–1) was increased by condensing the liquid hydrolysate
and supplying it to xylose-utilizing recombinant S. cerevisiae.