Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) has been an important crop used for food
and industrial purposes in most Africa countries. Cassava is the chief source
of dietary food energy for the majority of the people living in the lowland
tropics, and much of the sub-humid tropics of West and Central Africa. Cassava
has recently gained considerable attention as important lignocellulosic biomass
for the production of bioenergy. However, in processing cassava tuber, the
biomass left behind include peelings, leaves and roots, and in most cases, the
biomass waste is not used for any economical purposes and can lead to
environmental pollution.
This paper considered
the intermediate route of converting lignocellulosic biomass to fermentable
sugar through acid hydrolysis and consequent ethanol production, in a developed
percolation reactor. The percolation reactor was made of two concentric
cylinders. The inner cylinder was of 270 mm diameter, 456 mm height, 3 mm
thickness and made of galvanised plate while the outer cylinder was of 370 mm
diameter, 456 mm height, 3 mm thickness and made of mild steel. The cassava
peelings used for this research work was obtained at various Gari processing
sites at Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State of Nigeria. The reactor was
used to convert 500 g of pulverised cassava peelings to sugar laden hydrolysate
in three replicated experiments. The physicochemical, thermochemical and energy
characteristics of ethanol produced was determined and the spectra-analysis was
done using F.T.I.R spectrophotometer.
The results
demonstrated that the reactor was simple to operate, easy to maintain and
affordable. And a mean value of 118 mL of ethanol per run was produced in the
experiment. The determined properties were consistent with standards aside from
a minute observed difference of 0.04 g/mL in its density, which highly suggested
that the product was ethanol. Therefore, the use of the percolation reactor for
the hydrolysis of biomass waste prior to the production of ethanol is an
effective way of generating fermentable sugar from the biomass wastes. In addition,
hydrolysis is a promising route for converting biomass wastes to chemical and
energy products, consume accumulation of agricultural wastes in the
environment, prevents its biodegradation and promote cleaner environment.
Article by Titiladunayo
Isaac Femi, et al, from Nigeria and USA.
Full access: http://mrw.so/4FDZZq
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