Produção de etanol a partir de torta de mamona (Ricinus communis L.) e avaliação da letalidade da torta hidrolisada para camundongos Ethanol production from castor bean cake (Ricinus communis L.) and evaluation of the lethality of the cake for mice

Abstract

The castor bean cake is rich in starch (48 ± 0.53%) and bears a problem linked to the occurrence of a toxic protein (ricin). The chemical hydrolysis (ratio solid:liquid = 1:6; H2SO4= 0.1 mol L-1; 120 °C; 40 min) generated a medium with 27 g L-1 of reducing sugars (hydrolysis efficiency= 32%). The hydrolyzed product was fermented and produced 11 g L-1 of ethanol (volumetric productivity=1.38 g L-1 h-1 and ethanol yield on substrate consumed=0.45 g g-1). In vivo experiments (DL50) revealed a reduction of roughly 240 times in the CBC toxicity (2.11 µg g-1).

Keywords

• castor bean cake
• acid hydrolysis
• ethanol