Production of Bioethanol from agro-industrial wastes

Abstract

A suitable alternative to replace fossil fuels is the production of bioethanol from agro-industrial wastes. Coconut, pineapple and tuna are fruits that available almost along the year in Mexico but a high percentage of these fruits are wasted by producers. The aim of this study was to investigate the using of agro-industrial wastes natural carbon sources such as those present in coconut milk, pineapple juice and tuna juice, to promote the synthesis of bioethanol by yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae CDBB 790. Cultures were grown in 500mL Erlenmeyer flasks containing 350mL of culture media (YM medium, coconut milk, pineapple juice or tuna juice) the yeast cells were inoculated with 35mL YM medium in the exponential growth phase. Results show that the highest ethanol concentration obtained from was 20%v/v in coconut milk, 22%v/v in pineapple juice and 12%v/v in tuna juice. The consumption of sugars at 36h was 88.62% in coconut milk, 93.75% in tuna juice, 90.62% in pineapple juice and 98.6% in YM medium.