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Production of Bio Fuel from Fruit Waste

Article · January 2011

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International Journal of Advanced Biotechnology Research.
Volume 1, Number 1 (2011), pp. 71-74
© Research India Publications
http://www.ripublication.com/ijabr.htm

Production of Bio Fuel from Fruit Waste

Debajit Borah* and Vimalendra Mishra

Dept. of Biotechnology, Beehive College of Advance Studies,

Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
*Corresponding Author E-mail: dborah89@gmail.com

Abstract

With increase in the demand of petroleum products the prices of petrol &
diesel are increasing world wide. Hence alternative sources of energy for
running our generators, automobiles etc. are being considered world wide. Till
now the scientific community of India is trying to produce bio fuels from
various sources such as Jatropha curcas, Pongamia pinnata, Azadirachta
indica, Madhuca indica etc. Our main objective is to search for a relatively
cheaper source for the production of ethanol & to develop easier techniques
for the production so that the common people can also produce it by
themselves. For this purpose we are taking fruit wastes (apple pomace and
rotten banana) as a substrate for the production of ethanol by treating it with
distilled water, small amount of sucrose and Saccharomyces cerevisiae which
was collected from “FRI, Dehradun”. After 36 hrs of fermentation process we
got a yield of 38% ethanol. After distillation we could recover a total volume
of 200 ml of 48% concentrated ethanol from a total volume of 1500 ml of
substrate mixture. By redistilling the obtained product a higher concentration
of ethanol can be obtained. It has various advantages over the traditional fuel
as it can be prepared by anyone in their kitchen also. It is much cleaner and
better for the environment and releases no toxic gases, hence not harmful to
human health also. The waste materials after the fermentation can be used in
the soil as a fertilizer.

Keywords: Bio fuel, fruit wastes, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ethanol.

Introduction
Ethanol fuel is ethanol (ethyl alcohol), the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic
beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for
72 Debajit Borah and Vimalendra Mishra

gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007
from 17 billion to more than 52 billion litres. From 2007 to 2008, the share of ethanol
in global gasoline type fuel use increased from 3.7% to 5.4%. In 2009 worldwide
ethanol fuel production reached 19.5 billion gallons (73.9 billion liters). Ethanol is
widely used in Brazil and in the United States, and together both countries were
responsible for 89 percent of the world's ethanol fuel production in 2009. Most cars on
the road today in the U.S. can run on blends of up to 10% ethanol, and the use of 10%
ethanol gasoline is mandated in some U.S. states and cities. Since 1976 the Brazilian
government has made it mandatory to blend ethanol with gasoline, and since 2007 the
legal blend is around 25% ethanol and 75% gasoline (E25). In addition, by 2010
Brazil had a fleet of more than 10 million flexible-fuel vehicles regularly using neat
ethanol fuel (Goettemoeller J. et al 2007).
Bioethanol, unlike petroleum, is a form of renewable energy that can be produced
from agricultural feedstocks. It can be made from very common crops such as sugar
cane, potato, manioc and maize. However, there has been considerable debate about
how useful bioethanol will be in replacing gasoline. Concerns about its production
and use relate to increased food prices, the large amount of arable land required for
crops, as well as the energy and pollution balance of the whole cycle of ethanol
production, especially from corn. Recent developments with cellulosic ethanol
production and commercialization may allay some of these concerns. Cellulosic
ethanol offers promise because cellulose fibers, a major and universal component in
plant cells walls, can be used to produce ethanol. According to the International
Energy Agency, cellulosic ethanol could allow ethanol fuels to play a much bigger
role in the future than previously thought (Inderwildi O.R. et al. 2009).
In India people are trying to produce bio fuels from various sources such as
Jatropha curcas, Pongamia pinnata, Azadirachta indica, Madhuca indica etc. In our
present study our main objective was to search for a relatively cheaper source for the
production of ethanol & to develop easier techniques for the production so that the
common people can also produce it by themselves. For this purpose we are taking
fruit wastes (apple pomace and rotten banana) as a substrate for the production of
ethanol by fermenting it with Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Methods & materials

Collection of the fruit wastes
For this purpose we had collected a total of 400 gm of apple pomace and rotten ripen
banana from the fruit market situated in Dehradun. These were washed in 5%
Potassium permanganate (KMNO4) & rinsed well in distilled water.

Preparation of the substrate for the fermentation process

The protocol of Akin-Osanaiye B.C. was used for the process of fermentation with
some modifications. The apple pomace and the rotten bananas were crushed in a
mixer. Now in a separate beaker 300ml of slightly warm distilled water was taken and
Production of Bio Fuel from Fruit Waste 73

50gm of sucrose and 10gm of Saccharomyces cerevisiae collected from “FRI,

Dehradun”, was added and mixed well. Now this mixture was added in the previously
made mixture of apple pomace & rotten banana and mixed in a mixture. The mixture
was transferred into a 1.5ltr conical flask and made the final volume up to 1000ml
with slightly warm distilled water. The flask is covered with dark paper and the mouth
is sealed and kept in a shaker incubator and allowed to incubate for 36hrs at 36oC with
a speed of 100rpm.

Recovery of the product

After 36hrs of fermentation process a small amount the sample was taken out and
centrifuged. The supernatant was collected and the volume of the alcohol was
determined by the specific gravity method. Then the rest of the sample was distilled
using normal lab distiller to collect the concentrated alcohol (A.O.A.C 1970 & 1980).
The concentration of ethanol was determined by the specific gravity method.

Results & discussion

After 36hrs of incubation a total volume of 200ml of 48% ethanol was obtained from
a total volume of 1000ml of substrate after distillation. Using higher grade distillation
assembly a more concentrated product can be recovered by re distillation. The higher
concentrated ethanol can be used as a bio fuel and it reduces no toxic gases to the
environment. The substrates used are very cheap raw material and the process was
found to be very easy and less cost effective and a common man can involve himself
develop it as a small scale industry. As it releases no toxic residue so it is eco friendly
and hence the left outs can be disposed in the soil.

Conclusion
In our present study we tried to obtain a higher concentration of alcohol using fruit
wastes (apple pomace and rotten banana) by fermenting them with the help of
common baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. As we could obtain 48% alcohol
after distillation so we can predict that a higher concentration of alcohol can be
obtained after re distillation of the product obtained. A higher concentration of
alcohol can be use as a bio fuel. As this process is cost effective and do not yield any
toxic residues so a common man can develop this technique and can produce it in an
industrial level.

References
[1] Akin-Osanaiye B.C., Nzelibe H.C., Agbaji A.S. (2005). Production of ethanol
from Carica papaya (pawpaw) agro waste: effect of saccharification and
different treatments on ethanol yield. Afr. J. Biotechnol. 4(7): 657 - 659.
 74 Debajit Borah and Vimalendra Mishra

[2] Association of Official Analytical Chemists (A.O.A.C.) (1970 and 1980).

Official Methods of Analysis 13th Ed. Horwits, W., Ed. A.O.A.C., Washington
D.C.
[3] J. Goettemoeller, A. Goettemoeller (2007). Sustainable Ethanol: Biofuels,
Biorefineries, Cellulosic Biomass, Flex-Fuel Vehicles, and Sustainable
Farming for Energy Independence (Brief and comprehensive account of the
history, evolution and future of ethanol). Prairie Oak Publishing, Maryville,
Missouri. ISBN 9780978629304.
[4] O. R. Inderwildi, D. A. King (2009).Quo Vadis Biofuel. Energy &
Environmental Science 2: 343.

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