Use Of Fruit Biomass Peel Residue For Ethanol Production

Abstract

Ethanol made biologically from cellulosic biomass, including agricultural and forestry residues, portions of municipal waste being widely recognized as a unique transportation fuel with powerful economic, environmental and strategic attributes. Approximately, 1 kg of residue is produced for each kilogram of grains harvested. In this study, we demonstrate that the fruit biomass peel residue could be used to produce fuel grade ethanol. A chemical pre-treatment process using alkaline peroxide or acid hydrolysis was applied to remove lignin, which acts as physical barrier to cellulolytic enzymes. Aspergillus niger was used in the experiment. The pre-treatment process effectively removed lignin. Ethanol production in the culture sample was monitored using high performance liquid chromatography. The results indicate that ethanol can be made from the fruit biomass peel residue. The fermentation system needs to be optimized further to scale up the process for large-scale production.