Production of Bioethanol from Different Substrates with Yeast Isolated from Various Sources

Fossil fuels have always been considered as a non-renewable, finite resource of energy. However due to its detrimental effects on the environment, recent research and development has been aimed at finding and improving the production of alternative fuels from other sources. Bioethanol has emerged as one of the most successful product of this endeavour. This study aims to analyze and compare the production of bioethanol by the yeast fermentation process from different substrates which are easy to obtain and economically viable in the Indian subcontinent. The yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) used for fermentation was also isolated from easily available sources. There were four substrates used: Sugarcane juice, Pineapple juice, Grape juice and Sapodilla juice. To isolate the yeast, three sources were used: Sugarcane, Apple and Sweet lime. Bioethanol was separated by fractional distillation and yield was measured using a Hydrometer.