Ethanol production from Ferula communis

Mediterranean countries are faced with severe water shortage and unavailability of agricultural land that limit the cultivation of energy crops that supply the feedstock for biofuel production. A possibility would be to use Ferula communis that is encountered in Cyprus and other Mediterranean countries, growing wild in pastures. Its flower stalks contain sugars and starch that were measured to be 0.50–0.55 kg kg−1, based on dry material. The ethanol is produced by fermentation of the juice extracted by crashing and pressing the flower stalks of the plant. The first stage of the process was cooking the juice at a temperature of 95 °C, combined by liquefaction and saccharification of the starch using enzymes, like alpha amylase and glucoamylase. The process was followed by fermentation of the juice for three days and finally distillation of ethanol. The alcohol yield per kilogram dry stalks was 55.8 cm3 kg−1, compared to the theoretical value of 57.3 cm3 kg−1, mainly due to the incomplete fermentation of the sugars. The plant seems to be a potential energy plant for ethanol production in arid regions cultivated on degraded land with minimal attention.

► The use of Ferula communis as an energy plant for ethanol production is examined.
► Its flower stalks contain 0.5 – 0.55 kg kg−1sugars and starch.
► Ethanol is produced by fermentation of the juice extracted from the flower stalks.
► The alcohol yield per kilogram dry stalks was 55.8 cm3 kg−1.
► The plant seems to be a potential energy plant for ethanol production.