Introduction
The efficient use of natural resources for bioethanol production
has been explored by several research groups
(Balat 2011; Binod et al. 2010; Sarkar et al. 2012). At
present, most bioethanol is produced from food crops
such as corn grain or sugar cane (Kim & Dale 2004;
Sanchez & Cardona 2008); however, the use of starch
and sugar for the production of bioethanol competes
with crops for food supplies. As an alternative, a lignocellulosic
biomass product such as corn stover, corn fiber,
rice straw, bagasse or wheat straw could become indispensable
resources for bioethanol production. In Japan,
for example, approximately 75% of rice straw is not used
effectively which could therefore be an abundant feedstock
for bioethanol production.