Production of Bioethanol from Domestic Food Waste

Abstract

Domestic food waste has contributed significantly to global warming in all areas of the world. Particularly in Malaysia, it is estimated that 27% of cooked or prepared food waste is wasted, with starchy food being the most commonly wasted after being prepared. The conversion of domestic food waste to ethanol could become a reliable and sustainable solution to this problem. This process is further improved through hydrolysis of large starch molecules using enzymes, in order to increase the amount of fermentable carbohydrates which in turn produces a higher yield of ethanol after fermentation. After fermentation, ethanol is extracted from the mixture through simple distillation. The distillate was then subjected to an oxidation test and flammability test to prove that it contained ethanol. A test is also done to find the theoretical heat of combustion of ethanol to determine if ethanol is suitable to be used as biofuel for vehicles.

Keywords

• bioethanol
• Solid Waste Management
• food waste
• fermentation