Comparative Study on Ethanol Production from Sweet Potato Flour and Sugarcane Juice Using Thermotolerant Kluyveromyces marxianus

Renewable energy is widely acknowledged as the fastest growing energy source due to its environmental friendly. The demand for ethanol is increasing but the cost and availability of substrate are the major challenges facing bioethanol production. Therefore, the aim of this research was to compare bioethanol production from sugarcane juice and sweet potato flour. Bioethanol production was carried out using liquefied and pretreated sweet potato flour and sugarcane juice in 250 ml conical flask inoculated with thermotolerant Kluyveromyces marxianus. The result showed that the sugar concentration of sweet potato flour and sugarcane juice were 18 and 25 % respectively. During fermentation the sugar concentration decreased while ethanol concentration increased to maximum of 5.273 and 3.886 % respectively from sugarcane juice and sweet potato flour after 48 hours of fermentation. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that sweet potato and sugarcane, which are efficiently and abundantly cultivated in most parts of Nigeria, can be efficiently utilized for bioethanol production.