OPTIMISATION OF BIOETHANOL PRODUCTION USING CARDBOARD WASTE AS A PROMISING FEEDSTOCK VIA THE YEAST FERMENTATION PROCESS

Abstract

The present study employed cardboard waste as feedstock for bioethanol production. Physicochemical and biological treatments were utilized to enhance the free sugar level from cardboard waste converted to bioethanol through metabolic pathways using yeast. The minimum production of sugar was 16.2 mg/mL when the cardboard waste was pre-treated with dilute sulfuric acid (1%) at an acid/waste ratio of 10 mL: 1 g, which produced the highest bioethanol yield after fermentation. To concentrate the bioethanol obtained, distillation and dry agent were used respectively to afford high-purity bioethanol with yield of 29.0%. The bioethanol produced was characterized through NMR and FTIR spectroscopy techniques. Furthermore, bioethanol and traditional gasoline were blended at different ratios to produce blends E0, E6, E8, E10, and E12. The binary mixtures were evaluated experimentally using American Standard for Testing and Materials (ASTM) methods, including Reid vapor pressure (RVP), density, water content, and, research octane number (RON). The fuel blend densities increased linearly with an increasing ratio of ethanol content in the binary mixture, while RVP values decreased. RON and water content of bioethanol-gasoline blended fuel steadily increased with the addition of bioethanol.