Feasibilitiy Study of Bioethanol Production: A Case of Spent Mushroom and Waste Paper as Potential Substrate

Aims: The aim of the present study is to produce ethanol from waste paper and spent mushroom using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as enzymes for the fermentation process.

Study Design: Waste paper and spent mushroom samples were subjected to fermentation and hydrolysis by Aspergilus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce bioethanol.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out in the Environmental Microbiology Laboratory, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, between May and October 2017.

Methodology: Waste paper and spent mushrooms samples were hydrolyzed by Aspergillus niger, and the hydrolysate from each set up subjected to fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Ethanol was extracted by fractional distillation, and qualitatively determined by Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry.

Results: After 8 days of fermentation, there was decrease in glucose content in waste paper hydrolysate ranging from (0.51-0.1 mg/l), and spent mushroom substrate (0.3-0.07 mg/l). Upon extraction of the bioethanol, the highest yield was recorded for waste paper hydrolysate which after characterization with GC-MS ethanol concentration was 28.01 mg/l, followed by spent mushroom hydrolysate 26.8 mg/l.

Conclusion: This study revealed that bioethanol can be obtained from fermentation of waste paper using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and ethanol can be obtained after the paper has been used in growing edible mushroom; if adopted, this could be a way to achieving environmental sustainability.