# Exploring the Bioethanol Production Potential of _Miscanthus_ cultivars
## 4 Conclusions and Future Work  
This paper analysed the compositions of five cultivars of _Miscanthus_ sp., cultivated at the same location, to explore the impact of cultivar difference while eliminating the potential impact of cultivation climate and soil type. The result demonstrated that the selected 5 _Miscanthus_ cultivars all contain promising amounts of cellulose and hemicellulose for biofuel production. However, significant differences in lignocellulosic composition were observed between different _Miscanthus_ cultivars, indicating that some cultivars have a higher potential for industrial bioethanol production. Dilute acid hydrolysis of _Miscanthus_ spp., followed by enzymatic hydrolysis, released up to 80% glucose, while a trial fermentation achieved a bioethanol production yield of 75.6%, corresponding to 0.148 g bioethanol/g dry weight _Miscanthus_ biomass. Sugar release profiles of 5 _Miscanthus_ cultivars showed that it was increasingly difficult to release monosaccharides from the plant cell wall during the harvest season from November 2018 to February 2019. The mineral profile suggested late senescence occurred between November 2018 and February 2019 for some _Miscanthus_ cultivars. The comparison of two lignin analysis methods indicated that the lignin content obtained by the Klason method was higher than that obtained by the ABSL method (~3% on average). The paper also provided visual SEM images of various hydrolys _Miscanthus_ samples that supported the explanation of _Miscanthus_ lignocellulosic degradation processes.  
In order to further demonstrate bioethanol production potential using _Miscanthus_ spp., a demonstration bioethanol production plant should be constructed to confirm the finding in various lab-scale experiments. As the cellulose content of different _Miscanthus_ spp. could have a difference of ~20%, high cellulose species should be selected for large-scale cultivation. An early harvest resulted in higher sugar content and easier sugar release. However, other factors, such as moisture content, total biomass yield and recovery of minerals for next season's cultivation, should also be considered to determine a suitable harvest date.  
Conceptualization, W.T., D.G., M.M. and C.D.; methodology, W.T. and D.G.; writing--original draft preparation, W.T. and D.G.; writing--review and editing, all.; supervision, M.M., M.S., J.K. and C.D.; funding acquisition, M.M., M.S., J.K. and C.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
D.G. and C.D. would like to thank the University of Huddersfield URF (URF2015/24) for this research. WT would like to acknowledge the University of Huddersfield for the University's PhD scholarship. The authors would like to thank [PERSON] and [PERSON] for their help on the HPLC/GC and ICP-MS analysis. _Miscanthus_ cultivars used in this project were developed with support from the UK's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) through the GIANT-LINK project (LK0863) and by the Innovate UK/BBSRC 'MUST' BB/N016149/1 project. We also thank [PERSON] and [PERSON] for the uses of the Miscanthus cultivars, which were bred at Aberystwyth University, IBERS, under the leadership of [PERSON], the research group leader for Plant Biology for the Sustainable Bio-economy; in addition, we thank [PERSON] of Terravesta for hosting the trials from which samples were collected and [PERSON] of Terravesta for collecting the samples.  
Not applicable.  
All data is available upon request, and the authors declare that they have no competing interests.  
The authors declare no conflict of interest.