Production of Bioethanol From Muntingia calabura – An Under Exploited Fruit

Abstract

The generation of bio-fuels from underexplored fruits forms an attractive solution towards energy generation. The utility of less utilized fruits as a possible source of ethanol production in a process without aeration was investigated by using fruits of Muntingiacalabura. The fruit juice was subjected to fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The amount of ethanol produced after fermentation was analyzed by gas chromatography and the ethanol production is almost equal to any commercial fruit ethanol production. The results indicate the promising future for generation of ethanol from underexploited fruits on a large scale.