Ethanol: A Piece of cake

Practical Application

1. Ethanol can be produced from the Jatropha cake (waste material) which can be used for fuel.

2. The ethanol can be used as a solvent in the extraction of Jatropha oil instead if hexane which is a fossil solvent

3. Can be used to make ethyl acetate which is a combination of ethanol and acetic acid. This is an excellent solvent for the extraction of Jatropha oil.

 

C₂H₅OH + CH₃COOH —> CH₃COOC₂H₅ + H₂O

 

 

 

 

1. Hydrolysis of Jatropha cake could be carried out using cellulosic enzymes to hydrolyze the complex carbohydrates.

2. Analysis of fermentation cake for future use.

3. Analysis and evaluation of the amounts of ethanol produced from the Jatropha cake compared to other materials would be an interesting research.

 

 

Future research