Bioethanol production from acid pretreated water hyacinth by separate hydrolysis and fermentation

Abstract

This study evaluated water hyacinth as feedstock for bioethanol production. Among different organic and mineral acids tested on pretreatment of water hyacinth, H2SO4 was found to be effective. Structural changes before and after pretreatment were evaluated by SEM, FTIR and XRD analysis. Various process parameters on hydrolysis of H2SO4 pretreated water hyacinth were optimized. Under optimized conditions, bioethanol (0.292% w/v) was obtained with an actual efficiency of 59.3%.