Process for second generation lactic acid production

A process for production of a lactic acid from a lignocellulosic biomass, the process consisting of:

• i. pretreating the lignocellulosic biomass with a dilute acid and a superheated steam at a temperature in a range of 150-210° C., wherein the lignocellulosic biomass consists of C5 and C6 sugars C to obtain a pretreated lignocellulosic biomass;
• ii. neutralizing the pretreated lignocellulosic biomass of step (i) with NaOH pellets to obtain a neutralized biomass slurry;
• and
• iii. adding a cellulase enzyme in a range of 1.5 to 5 filter-paper units/gram, a Lactobacillus bacteria, nutrients, and a buffering agent to the neutralized biomass slurry obtained in step (ii) for hydrolysing and co-fermenting the C5 and the C6 sugars at a temperature in a range of 40-45° C. for a period of 120-144 hours to obtain the lactic acid,
• wherein the Lactobacillus bacteria is selected from the group consisting of Lactobacillus lactis 2369 (NCIM) and Lactobacillus delbrueckii 2365 (NCIM),
• wherein the lignocellulosic biomass is selected from the group consisting of rice straw, wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse, cotton stalk, barley stalk, bamboo, and agriculture residues, wherein the agricultural residues comprise cellulose, hemicellulose, or both, and wherein hydrolysing and co-fermenting are carried out in a single unit system.