An ethanol yield of 79.6% of the theoretical maximum
(219 mg ethanol/g biomass or 22.9 g ethanol/L) has been reported
for the co-fermentation of pentoses and hexoses in alfalfa, using
the enzyme hydrolysis set GC220 cellulase (30 FPU/g cellulose),
b-glucosidase Novo 188 (40 U/g pulp) and pectinase (84 mg/g
biomass) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain YRH400 [39].
However, the conditions under which the five pretreatments
were evaluated are not yet the optimal conditions to maximize
the production of fermentable sugars for its conversion into
ethanol.