Bioethanol Production from Waste Paper: An Alternative Energy Source

Abstract

Bioethanol is one of the best alternative form of energy source in place of fossil fuels. In this study, bioethanol was produced from waste paper following a pre-treatment. The isolates used were isolated from fresh palm wine and characterized via standard microbiological methods. The pre-treatment was done using 5%, 10% and 50% concentrations of sulphuric acid and sodium hydroxide respectively. Results obtained showed that the concentration of glucose from the substrates ranged between 0.2-0.8 ppm with 10% sulphuric acid giving the highest glucose yield. The fermentation of the sugar was carried out using Saccharomyces cerevisiae for the production of bioethanol, which was recovered by fractional distillation. From this study, the production of bioethanol from waste paper is a veritable means of shoring up energy deficit especially in the developing countries.