STUDYING THE OPTIMAL CONDITIONS FOR GLUCOSE AND BIO-ETHANOL PRODUCTION FROM SPIROGYRA AFRICANA

📄 Project Abstract

In this research work, the optimal conditions for glucose and bio-ethanol production from Spirogyra africana were studied. The Spirogyra africana samples collected from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria Dam were dried, milled and sieved to 125 m, and subsequently analyzed for carbohydrate content. Prior to hydrolysis, a set of the samples was pre-treated with NaOH, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 % (w/v), another set was blanched for 5 minutes at different temperatures (30 oC to 100 ºC), while another set served as control (untreated). Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were used for saccharification and fermentation processes, respectively. Untreated biomass sample at two (2) days of hydrolysis with glucose yield of 29.13 wt/wt % was chosen as ideal for saccharification in this study. The result from the proximate analysis showed that Spirogyra africana contains 39.72 % carbohydrate. On the first day of hydrolysis, the blanched sample gave a relatively superior glucose yield of 15.94 wt...