Potential Use of Jatropha Curcas Stem for Ethanol Production

Abstract

Energy has a major impact on every aspect of our socio-economic in every country. However, the limited reserve of fossil fuel which constitutes the major energy sources has drawn the attention of many researchers to search for alternative fuels. In this study, the potential use of Jatropha curcas stem to produce ethanol was investigated. J. curcas stem is a lignocellulosic biomass which primarily consists of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. The materials were hydrolysed into fermentable monomeric sugars from hemicellulose and cellulose content of lignocellulosic biomass, in the medium of dilute tetraoxosulphate (VI) acid (1.5% H₂SO₄) at 100 ^oC for 15 minutes; followed by fermentation using a broth containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae supplemented with 22% (w/v) sugar, 1% (w/v) of each of ammonium sulfate and potassium dihydrogen phosphate, at pH 5.0 and 30°C for 4 days. During this process, both pentose and hexose sugars are fermented to ethanol under aerobic conditions; and ethanol was distilled from the fermented broth solution. The production of renewable fuels, especially ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass, holds remarkable potential to meet the current energy demand.