Utilization of Biomass Waste Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber of Palm Oil for Bioethanol Production Using Pilot–Scale Unit

The major biomass byproduct from the palm oil industry is empty fruit bunches (EFBs). EFBs have a great potency as basic raw materials used for the fermentative production because they contain 37.3 – 46.5% cellulose, 25.3 – 33.8% hemicelluloses. Being abundant and outside the human food chain makes these cellulosic materials relatively inexpensive feedstocks for ethanol production and no conflict with the food supply. The bioconversion of EFBs to bioethanol consist of pretreatment for reducing the crystallinity of cellulosic material and removing of lignin, cellulosic hydrolysis or saccharification using a combination of enzymes for fermentable sugar production, and fermentation of produce fermentable sugars to bioethanol. In this study, pilot scale unit was set up for development and testing of a process for ethanol production based on enzymatic saccharification. Testing of the process including pretreatment of EFBs using alkali NaOH 10%, saccharification using modified cellulase enzyme and fermentation of EFBs was carried out in the 350 L of fermentor tank using local strains Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mk, at 32 °C for 48 h. The results of each process obtained are described.