Renewable energy from agricultural waste

Abstract

This paper has aimed at evaluating the concentration of bioethanol obtained using sunflower stem as natural support, molasses as carbon source and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast in a continuous flow reactor. The natural support was tested to investigate the immobilization/growth of S. cerevisiae yeast. The concentration of bioethanol produced by fermentation was analyzed by gas chromatography using two methods: aqueous solutions and extraction in organic phase. The CO2 flow obtained during the fermentation process was considered to estimate when the yeast was deactivated. The laboratory experiments have highlighted that the use of plant-based wastes to bioconversion in ethanol could be a non-pollutant and sustainable alternative.