Extraction of Bioethanol from Potatoes, Banana Peels and Wheat Straw

The increasing demand of ethanol worldwide is not fulfilled by the conventional crops e.g. corn and sugarcane so the urge for alternative and cheap source for the alcohol production is very challenging. Ethanol is at present the most widely used biofuel for motor vehicles. The importance of ethanol is increasing due to a number of reasons such as global warming and climate changes. Biomass in the form of Lignocellulosic materials is renewable, low cost and abundantly available. It includes crop residue, grasses, wood chips etc., Extensive research has been carried out in past two decades to use these materials to form ethanol. A forward step has been taken for the bioethanol production from potatoes and banana peels. The global production of potato is about 300 million tons per year and is highly rich in starch where on the other hand, fruit waste and agricultural waste are the products rich in cellulose and hemicelluloses like products which can be broken down to glucose and then to ethanol. The production of alcohol from agricultural waste requires certain enzymatic pre-treatments and comparatively more time for the fermentation than from potatoes and banana peels, these pretreatments increases the cost of production by some percent but the yield can be raised to significant level.