Bioethanol Production from Waste Crops and Crop Residues

Abstract

Abstract: Rice straws and Husks were converted to reducing sugars by hydrolysis using concentrated sulphuric acid followed by fermentation using bakers yeast. After fractional distillation and purification, 52 ml (87 %) of ethanol was obtained from 480cm3 of biomass which was blended with gasoline using different ratios. Physical constants of the bio-ethanol (density and distillation) conformed to Kenya Bureau of Standards specifications. The conclusion is that the bioconversion offers a cheap and safe method of disposing the agricultural residues and conversion of lignocellulosic wastes into ethanol. Keywords: Bio-ethanol, wasted crops, crop residues