IMPROVING THE YIELD OF

BIOETHANOL FROM BANANA

PEELS

BY: Team guide: Dr. R Kumeresan

Team members:
* Rahul Jain
* Chanakya
Thunuguntla
* B . Vignesh
*

Introduction
Production

of green energy from waste

material has played an important role in
recent days due to the depletion of nonrenewable energy resources.

Our

project is based on ethanol production

from banana peels.
*Green energy substrate: nendran variety
banana
peels

*Green energy product: Bioethanol.

Using banana peels as the green

energy source: Wealth from Waste
According

to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the

United Nations India is the largest banana producing nation .

In

2005 the production of banana in India was 16.8 metric

million tonnes.

The

banana peel is a starchy substrate which can be utilized for

the production of bio-ethanol (green energy).

Bananas

and plantains are one of the cheapest foods to

produce. The cost of production of one kg of plantain being less
than for most other staples, including sweet potato, rice, maize
and corn.
As a starchy staple food crop, bananas and plantains rank third
in terms of total world production.

Why Nendran???
It

is a popular variety in Kerala

where it is relished as a fruit as
well as used for processing.
The Fruits have thick green skin
that turn buff yellow on ripening.
Fruits remain as starchy even on
ripening.

Analysis of
banana peels per 100 g
moisture

79.2 g

protein

0 .83g

fat

0.78g

minerals
fibres
starch content
rest (unidentified)

2.11g
1.72 g
5.00 g
10.36g

Fermentation process.
Ethanol

from starchy substrate is generally

produced by the fermentation process.

In

order to produce ethanol from starchy

material the starch must first be converted
into sugars

Saccharomyces

cerevisiae metabolize sugar to

produce ethanol and carbon dioxide. The
following chemical equation summarizes this:
yeast

C6H12O6

2 CH3CH2OH + 2

Glucose

ethanol

CO2.

Innovation in the
fermentation process
Our innovation lies in the indirect
fermentation process.

Growth activity of microbes increases

on purified starch rather than on
unprocessed starchy substrate.

Malting process
In

this process the substrate (Nendran

variety) is prepared for the fermentation
process.
Banana peels
were collected

Small amount of Monosodium glutamate was sprayed

Kept in hot air oven at 65C

Dried sample obtained measured 320 gm.

Extraction of starch
from ordinary banana peels

The starch extraction was carried out from dried sample

of ordinary banana peels and green banana peels using
Soxhlet apparatus.

In Soxhlet extraction procedure the

sample is loaded into the main chamber
of Soxhlet apparatus.

The Soxhlet extractor is placed over a flask

containing the extraction solvent (water).

The Soxhlet is then equipped with a

condenser.
water was used as a solvent for extraction of starch from
dried sample of Nendran variety and ordinary banana
peels

Starch present in dried sample was dissolved in

the hot water.

ADVANTAGES OF SOXHLET APPARATUS

The SOXHLET EXTRACTION is a

continuous process.
Its a self recovery process.
The SOXHLET apparatus has high
efficiency of extraction.

Starch hydrolysis
1000ml

of starch containing solution was

hydrolyzed by amylase enzyme.
10 gm of amylase enzyme was dissolved in
100 ml of water and was kept in shaker at
30C for 2 hours.
Starch was broken-down into glucose by
starch hydrolysis method.
Reducing sugar was estimated by DNS
method.

Inoculum preparation

Inoculum of S.cerevisiae was prepared for

fermentation process.

The yeast slant obtained from IMTECH, Chandigarh

was allowed to grow on potato dextrose broth .
24 gm of potato dextrose broth was dissolved in 100ml of
the water.
Before adding yeast spores potato dextrose broth was
autoclave at 121C and 15psi.

Yeast spores were added to the PDB

Inoculum was allowed to grow for 24 hours

Fermentation of
Glucose

Inoculum of
S.cerevisiae

1200ml of Glucose media was

autoclave

Kept for fermentation for 3days at

36C

Production of ethanol takes

place.

Recovery of Ethanol by
Distillation process
Ethanol was recovered by simple
distillation method.

Ethanol assay
Ethanol

concentration in distilled
solution was determined by
Potassium Dichromate method.

Nendran Vs Ordinary banana peels

Ordinary green
banana peels
Banana peels
collected

1 dozen

Nendran variety
green
banana peels
4 dozen

Amount of dried
sample

50g

320 g

Water used as
solvent

150 ml

1000 ml

Amylase (10%w/v)

2.5 g in 10 ml DM
water

25 g in 100 ml DM
water

Glucose solution

160 ml

Glucose
concentration by
DNS method

35 g/l

55 g/l

Inoculum culture of
S.cerviciae.

0.24 g in 100 ml

2.4 g in 100 ml

1100 ml

PERCENTAGE INCREASE
Indirect fermentation of Nendran variety of
banana peels has increased ethanol
production by 18.46%
Percentage increase in yield=(19.2516.25)/16.25*100

 The

Advantages and
Suggestions

ethanol produced from the waste banana

peels can be used back in form of blended fuel
thereby reducing the fuel cost and also the
carbon footprint of the manufacturing unit.

To

make the process economical it is suggested

to open a plant near the industry which
dissipates more heat in the surrounding (An
issue of global warming).This heat can be
supplied to heat the water for the starch
extraction by soxhlet apparatus.

The waste banana peels can be obtained from the

chips process industry and a hub can be opened to
obtain the banana peels.

Overview of a process
Banana
peels
+
antioxidan
t

Kept in
hot air
oven at
65 C

Banana
powder

Starch
extraction
By Soxhlet
apparatus

Ethanol Assay
by dichromate
method

Mono saccharide
Sugar
Assay by DNS
method

SACCHROMYCES
CERVICIAE

Removal of
moisture

Ethanol

Starch
hydrolysis
Amylase

DISTILLATION

IMPROVING LAG
PHASE

FERMENTER

What lies ahead?

S.cerevisiae culture can be genetically
modified to improve the yield of the ethanol
from nendran variety.
Screening for other better micro-organisms
which can ferment the starchy substrate.
Optimizing the factors such as pH,
temperature during the fermentation process.
Optimizing the solubility of starch in different
solvents for better starch extraction.
Increasing the life of a culture.
Increasing the tolerance of the ethanol.
The

Acknowledgement
Our sincere thanks to:
1. School of chemical and
biotechnology, SASTRA
university.
2. Our project guide: Dr. R
Kumeresan
3. Mr.R.Vivek, Faculty at SASTRA
4. Our family and friends for being
a constant support

THANK YOU!!!