Hydrolysis of Lignocellulosic Materials for Ethanol Production

Abstract

Biofuel is defined as solid, liquid or gaseous fuel derived from relatively recently dead biological material and is distinguished from fossil fuels, which are derived from long dead biological material. Theoretically, biofuels can be produced from any carbon source; although, the most common sources are photosynthetic plants. Various plants and plant-derived materials are used for biofuel manufacturing. Increasing the use of bio-fuels for energy generation purpose is of particular experiment nowadays because they allow mitigation of greenhouse gases, provide independence and even may offer new employment possibilities. Bio-fuels are being investigated as potential substitutes for current high pollutant fuels obtained from conventional sources.
There are two common strategies of producing liquid and gaseous agrofuels. One is to grow crops high in sugar, and then use yeast fermentation to produce ethyl alcohol. The second is to grow plants that contain high amounts of vegetable oil, such as oil palm, soybean, and algae. When these oils are heated, their viscosity is reduced, and they can be burned directly in a diesel engine, or they can be chemically processed to produce fuels such as biodiesel.
BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPERIMENT
The raw material used for the experiment is bagasse. First the bagasse is chipped and grinded (may be up to powder form). Then this is taken for acid hydrolysis. Dilute sulphuric acid of 0.2 M, 0.3 M, and 0.5 M concentration were used in this process. For the acid hydrolysis, 5 gms of bagasse was put in 100 ml of each of the concentrations and was allowed to soak for 1 day. Then it was autoclaved for half an hour and allowed to cool. The fermentation media was prepared. 5 gms of yeast was added to the above media and kept in incubator for 1 day. 10 ml of this media was added to each of the sample in asceptical (laminar flow hood) manner and placed in orbital shaking incubator. The pH was adjusted to 5 and the fermenting temperature was kept at 350C. Fermentation may take up to 10 days.