Evaluating the use of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) seeds for ethanol fermentation

Abstract

Jackfruit seed is commonly considered as waste from fruit processing. This research was conducted at STNanotech Laboratory in 2021 to evaluate the possibility of using jackfruit seed as a good carbohydrate source for saccharification and ethanol fermentation. Different fungi species such as Rhizopus oryzae, Penicillium oxalicum, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus awamori were examined on the efficacy of saccharification to produce the reducing sugar. The ratios of yeast affected on the ethanol fermentation were verified. The starch hydrolysis was performed on the cooked jackfruit seed powder with different fungi as starter culture using Rhizopus oryzae, Penicillium oxalicum, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus awamori at different ratios (6-14%). The starch hydrolysis and alcohol fermentation were performed on the cooked jackfruit seed powder with fungi species at ambient temperature for 72-168 hrs. Water was added into the saccharification batch at different time points (24-120 hrs). Results showed that jackfruit seed should be simultaneously treated by Aspergillus oryzae and Saccharomyces cereviceae at 8% : 4% ratio, time point of water addition at 96 hrs, total time of ethanol production for 144 hrs to obtain 24.08±0.00 g/L of ethanol. Jackfruit seed with abundant carbohydrate content would be a promising candidate for ethanol fermentation.