Obtaining Bioethanol through Hydrolytic Treatment of Agro-Industrial Banana Residues

Abstract

The banana is a food of great importance and it is consumed in almost the entire world. However, its harvest generates large quantities of mostly lignocellulosic waste, which can be used for the production of biofuels such as bioethanol. In this work, the potential for bioethanol production from agro-industrial plantain crop residues was evaluated with different operating conditions. A 24 experimental design was used, having as study variables: time of hydrolysis, pH of hydrolysis, concentration time, and fermentation time. The samples used were scraps consisting of a mixture of stems, leaves, and banana peels. The bioethanol obtained was characterized by physicochemical properties such as density, refractive index, and FTIR. As a result, it was obtained that the volume of bioethanol represented higher yields; using NaOH as a hydrolyzing agent, with hydrolysis time of 30 minutes, high fermentation time, and low concentrations. The chemical characterization of banana agro-industrial waste indicated that, the raw material could be considered as a potential source for bioethanol production, since it has a high content of cellulose.