Title Proposal: Bioethanol Production from Meak Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)

Proposal: Angel Love E. Chatto

Research Adviser: Rex F. Cañete
Proposed Time Frame: March 21, 2019

A. RATIONALE
Nowadays, there is an increasing demand of fuel in our society. Vehicle
transportations such as SUVs, vans, motorcycles, trucks and others need fuel in order to
be mobilized. Thus, the gasoline is a big problem to drivers or car owners because of its
value and also affects the normal payment rate of students and workers that use public
transportations. This may lead upon the shortage of gasoline that is needed for
mobilization of billions of vehicles. That being said, continuous researches have been
made to conduct a study for some alternative sources of fuel.

Bioethanol is an alternative source for fuel for road transport vehicles and is
derived from plants with sugar and starch. The watermelon, a nutrient-providing fruit
such as Vitamin A and many other, has a potential source of bioethanol. Citrullus lanatus
has a sugar content which is essential in producing bioethanol through saccharification
and fermentation. The watermelon is not only beneficial to our health but also to our
society.

B. GOALS
This study will aim to examine the effectiveness of Citrullus lanatus to become a
potential source of bioethanol production. Furthermore, it will seek to:

1. Determine the amount of bioethanol from a certain quantity of Citrullus

lanatus.
2. Determine and examine whether meak watermelon can generate bioethanol.
3. Determine the effectiveness of the bioethanol production.
4. Determine the comparison of the bioethanol from commercial fuels.
C. PROCEDURES

A. PRE-EXPERIMENTATION

A.1 Collection of Plant Samples

The Citrullus lanatus will be obtained from the wet market of Pamilihang
Lungsod ng Panabo, Panabo City, Davao del Norte or any other wet market places
where the certain variety of Citrullus lanatus is available.
A.2 Preparation of Plant Samples
The wastes (rinds) of the Citrullus lanatus that will be bought from the local
market places will be washed twice by distilled water for preparation. The rinds will
be drained in a hot air oven at a range of 60℃ to 65℃ for 1 day (24 hours) using a
grinder,
B. ACTUAL EXPERIMENTATION
B.1 Extraction of Plant Samples
The production of bioethanol from Citrullus lanatus will be conducted in any
laboratories that have a gas chromatograph. The powdered watermelon rind will
undergo saccharification (the hydrolysis of polysaccharides to form simple sugars).
The processed fruit rinds will then be added to a bowl containing yeast extract (5g/l)
and peptone (10g/l). The media will be autoclaved at 1210C and 15 psi pressure for
20 minutes and the Trichoderma viride will be inoculated under aseptic conditions.
The flask will be incubated at room temperature for a period of 144 hours. Reducing
sugar assay will be carried out according to the Dinitrosalicyclic method. After
saccharification, the cultures will be autoclaved and filtered using Whatman No.1
Filter Paper. The filtrate will be transferred into 250 mL Erlenmayer flasks, made
airtight with cork and autoclaved. The flasks will be aseptically inoculated with 15
mL overnight grown S cerevisiae and incubated at room temperature for 96 hours.
The ethanol produced will be determined by Gas Chromatography.
 C. POST EXPERIMENTATION
The wastes from the samples used from the experimentation will be dumped off
to a compost pit for decomposition and the fruit samples that are left unused will be
consumed by the researcher’s family. The bioethanol produced will then be used for
several uses of its benefits after the documentations and the experimentation is
conducted.

D. RISK AND SAFETY

Prior to actual laboratory manipulations, the researcher will be oriented on
laboratory procedures and precautionary measures by the laboratory in charge. For
safety purposes, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as laboratory gowns,
goggles, mask and hand gloves are to be worn during the experimentation to
minimize possible risks.

E. DATA ANALYSIS
Statistical Analysis
Percentage will be used to determine the amount of bioethanol produced from
watermelon rinds which is processed through saccharification and sugar fermentation.
T-test will be used for the comparison of the bioethanol produced from the
commercial fuels.

Research Design
This study will use a mixed method design. Quantitative analysis to utilize in
computing the bioethanol percentage extracted from watermelon rinds and to utilize
the amount of bioethanol. Qualitative analysis will be used to utilize the component
structure of the bioethanol that will be produced and to show its comparison to the
commercial fuels.

REFERENCES