Abstract:
In this research work, production of bioethanol from a mixture of lignocellulosic biomass
brewers’ spent grain (BSG) and sugarcane molasses was investigated to find the optimum
conditions that would enable to reduce the overall manufacturing expenses and maximize the
process yield. The BSG underwent a microwave-assisted alkaline hydrogen peroxide
pretreatment conducted at optimal operating conditions identified after conducting experiments
designed according to central composite design, whereas the molasses, being a nonlignocellulosic
sugar-rich feedstock, was not pretreated. The pretreatment was carried out with
4% v/v H2O2 solution having a pH of 11.5 at solid to liquid ratio of 0.1 or 10% w/v solid loading.
The process was optimized by conducting experiments under varying operating parameters,
microwave power (MW) (A, 100 – 500 Watt) and MW irradiation time (B, 2 – 10 min.) in terms
of lignin removal (L, %) as a response variable and the optimal conditions were found to be
282.25 Watt and 7.27 min respectively. Optimization of the dilute phosphoric acid hydrolysis
conditions was performed as well. A central composite design with response surface
methodology was employed to design the experiments and optimize the process involving three
independent variables; acid concentration (A, 2 – 4% v/v), hydrolysis time (B, 20 – 60 min.) and
molasses mixing proportion (C, 0 –50% w/w) and the response variable, reducing sugar
concentration (R, g/l), determined by Di-nitro salicylic acid (DNSA) method. The optimal
conditions obtained were an acid concentration of 3.16% v/v, hydrolysis time of 42.5 min. and
molasses mixing proportion of 38.1% w/w. Bioethanol was produced by applying the optimum
operating conditions identified and undergoing fermentation of the resulting hydrolysate for 72
hours using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and subsequently conducting simple distillation on the
fermentation liquor. The resulting product was then characterized by running FTIR spectroscopy
to analyze the recorded spectra and by conducting density, viscosity and flash point tests on the
product. The concentration of the produced bioethanol was determined by potassium dichromate
method was 39.34% v/v. The overall yield of the conversion process of BSG was found to be 0.28
grams of bioethanol per gram of dry BSG.
Key words: Bioethanol, lignocellulose, optimization, pretreatment, hydrolysis, BSG and
sugarcane molasses.