Abstract
When cassava is used for the production of distilled spirits through fermentation and distillation, toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is released from linamarin and carcinogenic ethyl carbamate is produced. Herein, cyanide and ethyl carbamate contents were monitored during the fermentation and lab-scale continuous distillation processes. Thereafter, mass balance and the influence of copper chips were evaluated. Results showed that 81.5% of cyanide was removed after fermentation. Use of copper chips completely prevented the migration of cyanide into the distilled spirits, while 88.3% of cyanide migrated from the fermented liquid in the absence of copper chips. Formation of ethyl carbamate was significantly promoted during distillation. Most of the produced ethyl carbamate (73.2%) was transferred into the distilled spirits in the absence of copper chips, only 9.6% of the ethyl carbamate was transferred when copper chips were used. Thus, copper chips effectively prevented the migration of cyanide and ethyl carbamate into the distilled spirts during continuous distillation.
Highlights
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz, Euphorbiaceae) is an important root crop that serves as a major food in tropics, such as Africa, Asia, and South America [1]
Two colorimetric methods and an ion chromatography (IC) method were used to measure the cyanide contents in cassava flour and samples processed with steaming, saccharification, and fermentation
After continuous distillation in the absence of copper chips, 88.3% of the cyanide and 73.2% of the produced ethyl carbamate were transferred into the distilled spirits
Summary
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz, Euphorbiaceae) is an important root crop that serves as a major food in tropics, such as Africa, Asia, and South America [1]. Cassava is a promising industrial raw material and, economically important, due to the high starch content (15–33%) in its roots [2]. Cassava tubers can be processed into different products such as chips, gari, flour, tapioca, sago, and abacha [3]. Tapioca, the starch product, is widely used in the food industry. Cassava starch is a promising source for the production of ethanol. Starch is converted into glucose by hydrolysis, which is further converted into ethanol by yeasts such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae [4,5]
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