Furfural was considered to be a major potent inhibitor of yeast growth and fermentation [73]. The growth of S. cerevisiae IPE005 and S. cerevisiae IPE003 was investigated using different concentration of furfural. From Table 4, S. cerevisiae IPE005 reached the cell growth phase at 16 h without furfural. Its cell growth was barely affected and the prolonged lag phase did not appear when the concentration of furfural was 1.18 g/L and 2.27 g/L. Along with the increasing in furfural concentration of 3.25 g/L, 4.14 g/L and 5.34 g/L, the lag phase lasted for 4, 8 and 12 h respectively. The literature has reported that the furfural could be converted into acetaldehyde, which would inhibit the growth of yeast and result in the prolonged lag phase [50]. The maximum cell concentration of 5.34 g/L furfural was less than that without furfural, but the decrease was not obvious. However, S. cerevisiae IPE003 reached the cell growth phase for 24 h without furfural. The lag phase was prolonged to 12 h and 20 h at the furfural concentration of 2.27 g/L and 3.25 g/L, respectively. Furthermore, S. cerevisiae IPE003 failed to establish a culture in the presence of the furfural concentration increasing to 4.14 g/L. It is concluded that DS has a better tolerance of furfural than the NDS.