Enzymatic Co-Fermentation of Onion Waste for Bioethanol Production Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris

Iqra Shahid, Ghulam Hussain, Mehwish Anis, Muhammad Umar Farooq, Muhammad Usman, Yasser Fouad and Jaroslaw Krzywanski ()
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Iqra Shahid: Institute of Environmental Engineering and Research, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Ghulam Hussain: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Mehwish Anis: Institute of Environmental Engineering and Research, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Muhammad Umar Farooq: Institute of Environmental Engineering and Research, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Muhammad Usman: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Yasser Fouad: Department of Applied Mechanical Engineering, College of Applied Engineering, Muzahimiyah Branch, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Jaroslaw Krzywanski: Faculty of Science and Technology, Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa, Armii Krajowej 13/15, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: This paper evaluates the feasibility of bioethanol production from onion waste by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris and their novel co-culture through fermentation. The process parameters were optimized for each strain and their combination to observe the synergistic effect of co-fermentation. A dinitro salicylic acid (DNS) test was conducted to study the reducing sugar content of samples at different time intervals. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis was used to compare results for functional groups of samples before and after fermentation, and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) analysis was performed to measure the bioethanol concentration obtained at different combinations of pH (5, 5.5, 6), temperature (20 °C, 30 °C, 40 °C), and time (24–110 h). The maximum bioethanol concentration was achieved through a monoculture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae , i.e., 30.56 g/L. The ethanol productivity was determined based on the ethanol concentration and fermentation time ratio. The energy content was determined using the obtained ethanol value and the specific energy content of ethanol, i.e., 30 kJ/g. The productivity and energy of bioethanol obtained at this maximum concentration were 0.355 g/L h and 916.8 kJ/L, respectively, after 86 h of fermentation at 30 °C and pH 5. Pichia pastoris produced a maximum of 21.06 g/L bioethanol concentration with bioethanol productivity and energy of 0.264 g/L h and 631.8 kJ/L, respectively, after 72 h of fermentation at 30 °C and pH 5. The coculture fermentation resulted in 22.72 g/L of bioethanol concentration with bioethanol productivity and energy of 0.264 g/L h and 681.6 kJ/L, respectively, after 86 h of fermentation at 30 °C and pH 5. The results of reducing sugars also supported the same conclusion that monoculture fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae was the most effective for bioethanol production compared to Pichia pastoris and co-culture fermentation.

Keywords: bioethanol; fermentation; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Pichia pastoris; waste-to-energy; co-culture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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