Production of bioethanol through enzymatic hydrolysis of potato

Abstract

Due to gradual decrease in petroleum resources and impacts of these wastes on the environment, there is a need to utilize the wastes of potatoes to get wealth out of wastes and clean the environment. In this study, potato wastes were investigated as source of bioethanol. 100 g potato powder was mixed with 1 L distilled water in two separate beakers to form potato slurry. Bioethanol production was investigated using effect of pH, temperature and mixture of digesting enzymes after scarification and fermentation. The results show that significant (p<0.05) bioethanol was produced at 35°C and at pH 5.5. This investigation also reveals that mixture of enzymes significantly enhanced (p<0.05) bioethanol production compared to non treated mixture. Maximum bioethanol productions were due to the presence of sugar in potatoes.

Key words: Bioethanol, potato, ph, temperature, liquefaction.