In our previous study, a perfluoropolymer membrane can dehydrate
fermentation mixtures, including by-products, and concentrate
ethanol by vapor permeation after ethanol fermentation by
recombinant S. cerevisiae. Investigations of
preparing more highly concentrated sugar solutions using membranes
are now underway in this laboratory. Thus, the application
of membranes for concentrating sugars (using NTR-729HF, NTR-
7250, or ESNA3 membranes) and ethanol (using a perfluoropolymer
membrane) holds promise for making ethanol fermentation
from lignocellulosic materials a viable and socially beneficial
process.