Abstract
The study was designed to compare the bioethanol production from Zymomonas mobilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae using molasses as production medium. The focus was on the retention time at lab scale. Bioethanol and petroleum blend can be used in existing gasoline engines. Present study showed a more cost-effective procedure for production of ethanol from sugar-cane molasses by using bacterial strain mobilis. Laboratory scale unit was designed to perform the experiments through batch fermentation and to determine the impact of leading parameters, including fermentation temperature, pH, sugar concentration, and nutrients. S. cerevisiae produced 8.3% (v/v) bioethanol provided sugar concentration 14 g /100 ml with the fermentation efficiency of 92.5%. On the contrary, Z. mobilis produced 9.3% (v/v) bioethanol by utilizing 16 g/100 ml sugar with the fermentation efficiency of 90.5%. Effect of nutrients on fermentation was determined using molasses as feedstock. Thin layer chromatography was also performed to assess the possible impurities in molasses as compared to the pure sugar. The pH and fermentation temperature was optimized for the enhanced yield of bioethanol. Key words: Bioethanol, molasses, fermentation, Zymomonas mobilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Highlights
Nowadays, petroleum products are running out of race due to unbalanced relation between supply and demand, escalations in the oil prices for the last two decades are contributing to set trends for the use of alternative resources
Molasses is a byproduct of the sugar industry, has a significant quantity of sugar 40 to 50% (w/v), ash content of 5 to 15%, which is used as a substrate in the rum and bioethanol production from many years (Doelle and Doelle, 1990)
To obtain maximum yield of bioethanol, samples were fermented in different pH ranges from 4.0 to 6.0
Summary
Petroleum products are running out of race due to unbalanced relation between supply and demand, escalations in the oil prices for the last two decades are contributing to set trends for the use of alternative resources. Pakistan imports million tons of oil every year to meet their energy constraint (US Department of Energy, 2014). Alternative fuels using feedstock like biomass and surplus molasses which are cheaper source of energy in some developing countries. Pakistan is producing 2 to 2.5 million tons of molasses every year, and 80% of molasses are being exported every year (PMSA, 2013) and if it is locally used in Pakistan for the production of bioethanol, it may be able to harvest 2 to 3% transportation fuel annually (Ali, 2013). Molasses is a byproduct of the sugar industry, has a significant quantity of sugar 40 to 50% (w/v), ash content of 5 to 15%, which is used as a substrate in the rum and bioethanol production from many years (Doelle and Doelle, 1990). The utilization of sugar cane molasses for the treatment method such as fermentation which is one of the oldest chemical processes known to human and most widely practiced by them is used to produce a variety of valuable chemicals (Mousdale, 2011)
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