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The Using of Organic Waste in Bioethanol Production as

Solutin for Energy Crisis

Anggit Priadmodjo1*, Anton Prawiro2

Faculty of Geography, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia

Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia

ABSTRACT : The scarcity of energy along with high increase of fossil fuel in last several
years makes many countries in the world try to use renewable energy resources especially
biofuel. One of the most popular biofuel is ethanol that made from some crops like corn, sugar
cane, and cassava. But, the production of bioethanol from crops can brings negative impact to
the supply of food, so there will be food crisis. Therefore, invention of new source that will be
used in the biofuel production is absolutely needed. One of the potential new source that can be
used is organic waste. The using of organic waste as raw material in the bioethanol production
is a form of reduce, reuse and recycle principle implementation in waste management.
Bioethanol from organic waste processed by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation
(SSF) technology. Organic waste that have been hydrolyzed and saccharified to simple sugar,
immediately consume and convert to ethanol. This condition prevents the decreasing of ethanol
yield because of glucose and cellobiose formed during enzymatic hydrolysis. Mash of
fermentation was settled and distillated to get higher ethanol puerility. The bioethanol
production using organic waste brings many positive impacts such as decrease of methane
influence in ozone layer destruction and increase farmer income.

Keywords : organic waste, bioethanol, crisis energy

1. INTRODUCTION and gasoline became the main energy


source for human life. But now, fossil fuel
Energy is one of the most important become ineffective, even more it can cause
sectors that affect all of human activity. negative impact to the environmental
Energy is needed by human to do all of condition. Increasing in energy
their activity as of household activity until consumption in the last 30 years causes a
economic activity especially industry. lot of new inventions especially new kind
Without energy, those activities can’t be of resources, which needed to produce
done. One of the most important kinds of more efficient fuel.
energy in human life is energy that Increase of world population can causes
produced from fossil (fossil fuel). During positive and negative impact. At one side,
many years, fossil fuel such as kerosene high population can be a potential resource

* author to whom correspondence should be adressed (phone number : +62-85729904610,


email : 4n661t.planologist@gmail.com)
for the development in a region. But at the corn, sugar cane, and cassava. But, the
other side, this can causes many problems production of bioethanol from crops can
such as energy problem. High population brings negative impact to the supply of
can cause the high consumption of energy. food, so there will be food crisis. Therefore,
The lack of energy can be occured if invention of new source that will be used in
increase of population over the years is the biofuel production is absolutely needed.
unequal with the increase of energy supply. One of the potential new source that can be
This kind of condition can cause energy used is organic waste.
crisis, so it can be said that the energy crisis
is occured if there is imbalance between
demand and supply. 2. BIOETHANOL PRODUCTION
Fossil fuel which is used for many FROM ORGANIC WASTE
years by all of the population in the world
is a form of unrenewable energy resources. 2.1 Ethanol
This kind of energy resources can be ran Ethanol is a clear, colorless, flammable
out, therefore if lack of fossil fuel is chemical with formula C2H5OH. It has
occured and almost all of the population been produced and used as an alcoholic
still depends on fossil fuel, there will be beverage since several thousand years ago.
energy crisis. Some of international reports Ethanol also has several industrial
mentioned that until certain level, various applications in e.g. detergents, toiletries,
crisis will be influence each other. coatings and pharmaceuticals, and has been
Appearance of energy crisis becomes used as transportation fuel for more than a
stimulus of food crisis. Decreasing in the century. Ethanol can be produced
supply of fossil fuel can also causes fuel synthetically from oil and natural gas, or
price increase. At last, it can cause biologically from sugar, starch and
monetary crisis. Therefore, there must be lignocellulosic materials called bioethanol.
some effort to find new sources of energy. Starchy and lignocellulosic materials
Those can be gained by producing are carbohydrate polymer that can’t be
bioenergy such as biofuel. convert to ethanol directly. These polymer
Energy crisis has many impacts to have been hydrolyzed to simple sugar
various sector of human life. Scarcity of (monomer). Simple sugar (glucose) is
energy resources especially fossil fuel widely used by microorganism as substrate
causes supply of this kind of energy or nutrient and fermented ethanol. Ethanol
become limited. This can causes fuel price may be produced by yeast pass through
increase therefore human purchasing power glicolytic pathway metabolism. Glicolytic
to various kind of fossil fuel become pathway for ethanol production is presented
decrease. Life pattern of modern society in Figure 1. [1].
which is very depend on fossil fuel also
influence the appearance of energy crisis.
Limited supply, long time renewal process,
and over exploitation will influence
sustainability of fossil fuel using in the
future.
The scarcity of energy along with high
increase of fossil fuel in last several years
makes many countries in the world try to
use renewable energy resources especially
biofuel. One of the most popular biofuel is
ethanol that made from some crops like
Glucose
(1 mole)
Media
Cytosol
Glucose
2 ADP

2 ATP
Glycerol Glycerol

2 NADH 1 NADH

Pyruvate Acetaldehyde Ethanol Ethanol


(2 moles) (2 moles)
1 NADH
CO2

CO2 (2 moles)

Figure 1 : Central metabolic pathways in yeast under anaerobic conditions.

2.2 Organic waste apple, etc. Lignocellulosic materials


Organic waste predominantly contains predominantly contain a mixture of
of starch or cellulose are potentially used as carbohydrate polymers (cellulose and
raw material for bioethanol production. hemicellulose) and lignin. The
From so much organic waste, we use fruit carbohydrate polymers are tightly bound to
and vegetable begun spoiled or lignin mainly by hydrogen bonds but also
unconsumable as raw materials. Begun by some covalent bonds.
spoiled fruit contains of simple sugar that For ethanol production from organic
can be fermented to ethanol. While waste, hydrolysis is necessary in order to
vegetable predominantly contain of convert the starch and cellulose into
cellulose. Hydrolyzed cellulose was simple fermentable sugar available to
sugar that also could be fermented to microorganisms. Traditional conversion of
ethanol. Beside begun spoiled fruit and starch and cellulose into the sugar
vegetable, part of unused crops or plants monomers requires a two-stage hydrolysis
after harvested also cellulose sources, e.g. process: liquefaction of large starch
straw, coconut fiber, shell of durian, and so molecules to oligomers, and
on, was also can be used as raw materials. saccharification of the oligomers to the
sugar monomers. This hydrolysis may be
2.3 Bioethanol processing catalyzed by acid or amylolytic enzymes.
The process of ethanol production In this ethanol production processing,
depends on raw material. In this paper, we we used Phosphoric acid as catalyst. The
classified organic waste to be two kind acid processes possess drawbacks further
materials, starchy materials and degradation of sugar to
lignocellulosic materials. Starchy materials hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), levulinic
are material from organic waste acid and formic acid, which lowers the
predominantly contains of starch, such as ethanol yield and inhibits the fermentation
organic waste from potato, tomato, spoiled process [2]. Prevents this effect, the glucose
must be convert to be ethanol immediately. fermentation technology that covered that
Simultaneous saccharification and problem. The ethanol processing is
fermentation (SSF) is a simple and best presented in Figure 2.

Raw materials

Milling & Size


reduction

Large polymer structure

H3PO4 Liquefaction

Small polymer

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Simultaneous


Solid residuals
saccharification and
Tricodherma reesei fermentation

Fermented liquid
Distillation

Ethanol (90.95%)
Dehydration

Ethanol (>99%)
Figuge 2. Process scheme for ethanol production from different organic waste.

SSF combines enzymatic hydrolysis of 2.4 Ethanol purification


cellulose and fermentation in one step. As Mash is centrifuged or settled in order
the cellulose converts to glucose, a to separate the microbial biomass from the
fermenting microorganism is presented in liquid and then sent to the ethanol recovery
the medium and immediately consumes the system. Distillation is typically used for
produced glucose. As mentioned, separation of ethanol, aldehydes, fuel oil
cellobiose and glucose significantly and stillage [2]. Ethanol is readily
decrease the activity of cellulose. SSF gives concentrated from mash by distillation,
higher reported ethanol yields and requires since the volatility of ethanol in dilute
lower amounts of enzyme, because end- solution is much higher than the volatility
product inhibition from cellobiose and of water. Therefore, ethanol is separated
glucose formed during enzymatic from the rest of the materials and water by
hydrolysis is relieved by the yeast distillation. However, ethanol and water
fermentation. form an azeotrope at 95.57 wt% ethanol (89
mol % ethanol) with a minimum boiling
point of 78.15°C. This mixture behaves as a 60
single component in a simple distillation, 50
Industral
Beverage
and no further enrichment than 95.57 wt%

Billion Liters
40 Fuel

of ethanol can be achieved by simple 30


distillation [2]. So it need more processing 20
to get higher purity ethanol. 10
In order to allow the blending of 0

1975
1977
1979
1981

1983
1985
1987
1989
1991

1993
1995
1997
1999

2001
2003
2005
alcohol with gasoline, the water content of
ethanol must be reduced to less than 1% by Year

volume, which is not possible by Figure 3. World ethanol production since 1976.
distillation. Higher water levels can result
in the phase separation of an alcohol/water Bioethanol made from organic waste
mixture from the gasoline phase, which has a great potential, especially in
may cause engine malfunction. The Indonesia. High population increase
removal of the water beyond the last 5% is becomes one of the most important factor
called “dehydration” or “drying” of that can support the production of organic
ethanol. Azeotropic distillation was waste bioethanol in Indonesia. Increasing in
previously employed to produce higher- the number of population usually followed
purity ethanol by adding a third component, by waste production increase include
such as benzene, cyclohexane or ether, to organic waste. Based on statistical data
break the azeotrope and produce dry published in 2000, from 384 city that
ethanol [3] produce more than 80,325.7 ton waste
everyday, only 4,2 % that carried away and
dumped in Final Dumping Area, 37,6 % are
3. THE CHANCE OF WASTE burnt, and 4,9 % dumped in the river, and
ORGANIC BIOETHANOL 53,3 % aren’t managed. Those show that
PRODUCTION IN INDONESIA waste management become a big matter in
Indonesia, whereas this problem can be
The total world ethanol production in reduced by implementing reduce, reuse,
2006 was 49.8 billion liters (39 million and recycle principle in the management.
tons), where 77% of this production was One of the most effective ways that
used as fuel, 8% as beverage and 15% in reflecting implementation of reduce, reuse,
industrial applications [4]. Since 1975, the and recycle principle in waste management
market for potable ethanol did not is using organic waste as raw material in
experience a major growth, while the biofuel production process. The position of
market for industrial ethanol increased by Indonesia as agricultural country also
about 75%. However, the fuel market for supports the availability of organic waste.
ethanol has increased aggressively from Therefore, the sustainability of raw material
less than one billion liters in 1975 to more which needed in bioethanol production
than 38 billion liters in 2006 (Figure. 3). process is guaranteed.
This show us that the necessary of ethanol
of the world is very high.
4. THE GOODNESS OF ORGANIC
WASTE BIOETHANOL
PRODUCTION

Using of organic waste in the


production process of bioethanol doesn’t
give negative effect to the environmental
condition because of its characteristic as the REFERENCES
naturally degradable material. But, natural
environment has limited capacity to [1]. Taherzadeh MJ, Ethanol from
decompose the organic waste. Along with lignocellulose: physiological effects of
the rapid population increase, accumulation inhibitors and fermentation strategies,
of organic waste becomes more and more. Chemical Reaction Engineering,
If there is no good processing, this can be Chalmers University of Technology,
source of disease. Besides that, naturally Göteborg, Sweden, 1999.
decomposition will produce methane. This [2]. Kosaric N, Wieczorirek A, Cosentono
substance can break ozone layer in the GP, Magee RJ, Ethanol fermentation,
atmosphere. Even more, the impact of in: Biotechnology: A comprehensive
methane to the destruction of ozone layer is Ttreatise, Reed G, ed, Verlag-Chemie,
21 times greater than the carbon dioxide. 1983.
By using organic waste as raw material in [3]. Wilkie AC, Riedesel KJ, Owens JM,
bioethanol production, more environmental Stillage characterization and anaerobic
damaged can be prevented. The using of treatment of ethanol stillage from
organic waste as raw material in bioethanol conventional and cellulosic feedstocks,
production also can increase farmer’s Biomass and Bioenergy, 19:63-102,
income. Straw and many rotten fruit and 2000.
vegetable that threw away formerly, now [4]. Licht FO, World ethanol markets: the
can be changed into bioethanol and the outlook to 2015, Tunbridge Wells,
product can be sold. F.O.Licht, UK

5. CONCLUSION

Bad waste management in Indonesia


can causes many problems such as
environmental deterioritation and health
disruption. This problem can be solved by
implementing reduce, reuse, and recycle
principle in the waste management. One of
the most effective ways in implementing
those is using organic waste as raw material
in bioethanol production. Waste organic
contains strach and cellulose that can be
used as raw material on the production of
bioethanol. With simultaneous
saccharification and fermentation (SSF),
yield of bioethanol that produced is higher.
The bioethanol production using organic
waste brings many positive impacts such as
decrease of methane influence in ozone
layer destruction and increase farmer
income.

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