Efficiency And Optimization of Bioethanol Production From Bagasse Pretreated By Saccharification And Co-Fermentation Process Using Commercial Cellulase And Saccharomyces sp. To Economic Cost Analysis

Abstract

The problem of overflowing bagasse in the three southernmost provinces of Thailand has negatively impacted the environmental system. The utilization of bagasse for bioethanol production was one approach that helps in removal and added value. This research aims to study the optimum conditions for the Saccharification of bagasse with commercial cellulase.  We found that cellulose was added at 2.5 Units with cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin content of 72.35 ± 4.36, 11.05 ± 0.95, and 1.12 ± 0.16 percent, respectively. We analyzed the bagasse solution's monosaccharides content that was properly pretreated with High-performance liquid Chromatography using C-18 Column and water as Mobile phase with flow rate at 0.4 ml/min. The result was that the content of Sucrose, Glucose, Xylose, Fructose, and Mannose were 45.25, 36.45, 10.32, 4.32, and 2.36 Percentage, respectively. We studied the optimum conditions for bioethanol Co-fermentation. The preparation of bagasse sugar solution with the initial sweetness of 20 degrees Brix and 10% starter inoculant was more effective than other conditions. The bioethanol content after Co-fermentation was 12.76 percentage at 48 hours. After the distillation for three cycles of such situations, the result was that Bioethanol purity was 32.25, 65.85, and 87.56 percent, respectively. After that, the evaluation of worthiness of bioethanol production in 5 years for community investment was two years in the investment assessment, which could return to the operator. The payback period (PB) was 2.65 years.