Bioethanol production from sugarcane molasses with supplemented nutrients by industrial yeast

Abstract

Sugarcane molasses, a sugar industry by-product, is being used as a convenient source of carbon for microorganisms to produce bioethanol. The industrial yield of bioethanol derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae decreases with increasing temperature in the summer season and it is a common issue in the tropical region. It is inevitable to boost the production of bioethanol on an industrial scale to make it commercially profitable. This study has been conducted to analyze and compare the effect of three supplements on boosting alcohol products including thiamine (vitamin B1), pyridoxine (vitamin B6), and D-biotin (vitamin H). Collected molasses were diluted to 20 Brix to make them consumable by yeast, and thiamine, pyridoxine, and biotin were added as 1 mg/l, 1 mg/l, and 0.44 µg/l, respectively. Results depicted that the addition of vitamins impacted very positively on increasing alcohol production, yeast growth, and dry yeast weight where the residual glucose concentration was further decreased. Despite an extended lag phase resulting from higher vitamin doses, there was a significant improvement observed in both alcohol generation and yeast cell growth. This study presents the optimal dosing of supplements in the fermentation broth as a strategy to enhance bioethanol production.