Production of Bioethanol from Agricultural Wastes Using Residual Thermal Energy of a Cogeneration Plant in the Distillation Phase

Abstract

Alcoholic fermentations were performed adapting the technology to exploit the residual thermal energy (hot water at 83-85°C) of a cogeneration plant and to valorize agricultural wastes. Substrates were apple, kiwifruit and peaches wastes and Corn Threshing Residue (CTR). Saccharomyces bayanus was chosen as biocatalyst. The fruits, fresh or blanched, were mashed; CTR was gelatinized and liquefied by adding Liquozyme® SC DS (Novozyme); saccharification simultaneous to fermentation was carried out using the enzyme Spirizyme® Ultra (Novozyme). Lab-scale static fermentations were carried out at 28°C and 35°C, using raw fruits, blanched fruits and CTR, monitoring the ethanol production. The highest ethanol production was reached with CTR (10,22%9 and among fruits with apple (8,71%). Distillations at low temperatures and under vacuum, to exploit warm water from cogeneration plant, were tested; distillation at 80°C and 200 mbar or 400 mbar allowed to recover 93,35 and 89,59 % of ethanol respectively. These results support a fermentation process coupled to a cogeneration plant, fed with apple wastes and with CTR when apple wastes are not available, where hot water from cogeneration plant is used in blanching and distillation phases. The scale up in a pilot plant was also carried out.

Effects of Processing on Polyphenolic and Volatile Composition and Fruit Quality of Clery Strawberries

“…After the blanching treatment after the pasteurization, only few components were found and a high quantity of ethanol was expressed. The high percentage of ethanol in blanched or pasteurized samples before the application of the homogenization process (BM, BU, PM, PU, PMd and PUd) could be justified by the heating induction of an accelerated fermentation process during the next grinding process [ 27 ]. Methyl acetate, ethyl butanoate, 2–hydroxy propanamide, methyl and ethyl hexanoate had completely disappeared after the thermal treatment.…”

Fermentation Assisted by Pulsed Electric Field and Ultrasound: A Review

“…Food fermentation basically involves the chemical transformation of complex organic compounds into simpler compounds by the action of enzymes and microorganisms, which has been reported since ancient times as a means of food preservation [1]. A more recent application of the fermentation technique has been applied to the production and extraction of bioactive compounds in the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries.…”

Bioethanol Production from Different Varieties of Over-ripen Mango (<i>Mangifera indica</i> L.) of Bangladesh

“…It is comparably high with the current findings on ethanol production from mango (32% v/v). Cutzu and Bardi [36], reported that (substrates were apple, kiwifruit, and peaches wastes; and corn threshing residue) vacuum simple batch distillation by rotary evaporation at lab scale at 80°C (heating bath) and 200 mbar or 400 mbar allowed to recover 93.35% (v/v) and 89.59% (v/v) of ethanol, respectively.…”