Factorial analysis on bioethanol production from oil palm empty fruit bunches via separate hydrolysis and fermentation process / Nurul Atikah Binti Alfian @ Mohd Alfian

Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology

Final Year Report (Bachelor of Chemical Engineering ) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah - 2024

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The separate Hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) process is two separate steps that are sequentially performed which are enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation to produce bioethanol. The enzyme of cellic ctec2 is used in the first stage to break down the complex sugars into simpler sugars through an enzymatic hydrolysis process and then microbial fermentation of sugars from oil palm empty fruit bunches to produce bioethanol by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. The purpose of this study is to screen the operational parameters influencing the bioethanol concentration in the Separate Hydrolysis and Fermentation process. The chemical and hydrothermal pre-treatment process using Sodium Hydroxide was carried out after the process of washing, grinding, and drying the oil palm empty fruit bunches sample. The mixture of the weighed EFB sample and 1 L of 0.05 M of citrate buffer solution with a pH of 4.8 was carried out in a shaking incubator to vary the temperature and agitation speed for the process. The hydrolysis process fixed the condition at 150 rpm and 45 oC with the enzyme loading at 1.5% w/w for all samples. However, the substrate loading is varied at 1% and 5% w/v. After the production of glucose within 24 hours, the fermentation process was taken over by varying the yeast loading which is at 1% and 10% w/v. The fermentation process was conducted for 72 hours and the sample was taken after 3 days. The ethanol concentration was analyzed using the High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The observation through design experts showed yeast loading is the most positive effect response in bioethanol production. The effect of yeast and substrate loading gives a significant result in producing bioethanol. In conclusion, the higher the yeast and substrate loading, the higher the ethanol production. Keywords: Separate Hydrolysis; Fermentation; Biomass; High-Performance Liquid Chromatography; Ethanol Concentration; Substrate Loading; cellic ctec2; Saccharomyces cerevisiae