Preliminary Assessment for the Potential of Citrus Limetta Peel Waste for Bioethanol Production under Indian Conditions

Abstract

Brazil is the top producer of citrus fruits in the world with 20 million tons annually while India stands 5th on the list with total production of 6,286,000 tonnes annually. Citrus limetta being the third most cultivated species of citrus after orange and lemon with 4,200,000 metric tonnes produce annually in the world. CLPW is pectin rich agro waste and can utilised for the production of bioethanol which can be used as a substitute for the conventional fuel as it is cleaner and cheaper fuel source. On overviewing different research work it can be concluded that fruit peel waste especially citrus fruit has a huge potential for bioethanol production rather discarded into the environment. The carbohydrates content of the solid waste can be determined by using Anthrone method. The fermentation is done in the bioreactor using the combination with the maximum reducing sugar yield and using S. cerevisiae as the microorganism. Dichromate method used for the analysis of ethanol production. The moisture content of waste was 80.59% of total weight. The average carbohydrates content of sample was found out to be 62.35% on wet weight whereas the ash content was 10.51% on dry weight basis. With increase in acid concentration there is decrease in reducing sugar yield and vice-versa. With increase in temperature there is increase in reducing sugar yield. It can also be concluded that reducing sugar yield was maximum at 150˚C and without acid. It can be also concluded that rather throwing the peel waste it can be used as a source of energy production. It can be also concluded that the method used for treatment of waste can be serve as a tool for waste management.