Vinasse treated with charcoal as a molasses diluent for ethanol fermentation

Abstract

The demand for new products derived from agro-industrial residues has increased recently. Furthermore, vinasse, a wastewater from ethanol production, needs treatment to be reused in the sugarcane industry, reducing industrial water consumption. This study performed vinasse filtration with charcoal from industrial sugarcane residues and used filtered molasses dilution in ethanolic fermentation. There were five treatments in randomized blocks with three repetitions. The treatments included deionized water and natural vinasse as positive and negative controls, respectively, and filtered vinasse from charcoal made from bamboo, sugarcane bagasse, and straw. Hence, fermentation for ethanol production was performed. Compared with natural vinasse, filtered vinasse with all types of charcoal showed lower soluble solids, total residual reducing sugars, higher ethanol concentrations, and greater fermentative efficiency. Filtered vinasse from bagasse and straw charcoals had efficiencies of 81.14% and 77.98%, respectively, in terms of ethanol production, which are close to those of deionized water (81.49%). In a hypothetical industry, vinasse charcoal filtration and charcoal regeneration should prevent 84.12% of water consumption from environmental resources. This process is feasible because it uses a product of sugarcane residue to treat wastewater and reduce industrial water consumption and vinasse disposal.