Determining the Viability of Watermelon Exocarp as a Feedstock for Ethanol Production (Published)
Fossil fuels are compounds of hydrocarbons comprising of coal, natural gas and oil. Over the years, their constant use as sources of energy have adversely impacted the environment and have greatly contributed to global warming which have led to the advocacy for renewable energy. Renewable energy is produced from sources that do not deplete or can be replenished within a human life time. Bio-energy is the energy derived from biological sources and types of bio-energy are bio-ethanol, biogas, and biodiesel. This research work is to produce bio-ethanol from watermelon exocarp. A total of 78.6 kg of watermelon waste was collected from tenboga market upper mission road, Benin City, Edo State. The water melon exocarp was processed and fed into the grinding machine for blending. A cloth sieve filter was used to obtain 60 litres of juice from the slurry. The juice was fed into the fermentation pot, which fermented for five days. Brewer’s yeast (Saccharosomysis Cerevisae) and amylase of 11g each were added to the feedstock to facilitate the fermentation process. pH, conductivity, sugar content, refractive index and alcoholic content were observed daily and recorded during the period of fermentation. The beer was distilled at ethanol boiling point of 790C utilizing an indigenous bio-ethanol plant. It was recorded that 15 litres of ethanol with 35% alcoholic content was obtained from 60 litres of beer at the end of the distillation process. This therefore suggests that water melon waste can be harnessed as a viable feedstock for ethanol production.
Citation: Biose, O., Imhontu, M., Akenzua, O., Ehigiamusoe, O., Atsegha, B.,Onabe, J., Angalapu Daudeigha, J., Okorie, C., Igbinomwanhia, D. Iyeke (2021) Determining the Viability of Watermelon Exocarp as a Feedstock for Ethanol Production, International Journal of Physical Sciences Research, Vol.5, No.1, pp.21-27
Keywords: Environment, Physicochemical, Water Melon, bioethanol, exocarp