Journal of the Japan Institute of Energy
Online ISSN : 1882-6121
Print ISSN : 0916-8753
ISSN-L : 0916-8753
Original Paper
Comparative Study of Nutrient Supplements and Natural Inorganic Components in Ethanolic Fermentation of Nipa Sap
Pramila TAMUNAIDUShiro SAKA
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2013 Volume 92 Issue 2 Pages 181-186

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Abstract

The current study was initiated to explore the potential of nipa (Nypa fruticans) sap for bioethanol production in the presence of nutrient supplements and natural inorganic components available in the sap. Total chemical composition of nipa sap was 19.5 wt%, mainly composed of sucrose, glucose and fructose. Additionally, the elemental analysis of the sap gave 0.5 wt% inorganics with Na, K and Cl as its main components, corresponding to its habitat. Batch fermentative assays showed that the fermentation trend was similar between nipa and sugarcane sap with over 95% bioethanol yields in conditions with and without nutrient supplements. Further studies showed that, the natural inorganic components available in nipa sap played a significant role as nutrition materials for metabolic growth of microorganisms, consequently affecting the sap fermentability to bioethanol. As a whole, nipa sap showed some interesting characteristics in terms of fermentability without nutrient supplements making it a good alternative feedstock for bioethanol production.

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© 2013 The Japan Institute of Energy
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