Comparative Evaluation of the Methods of Palm Sap Fermentation for Bio-ethanol Production

Abstract

This paper evaluates the methods of fermenting palm sap for bio ethanol production and compares the yield. A survey was carried out in three local government in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria; Essien Udim, Ikot Abasi and Uruan local government area. Personal interviews were conducted with local palm wine dealers and questionnaires distributed. Three types of palm trees were found dominant in these areas; oil, raphia and nypa palm tree. The sap from these three palm trees were used in investigation. Two methods were investigated; natural and yeasted fermentation using saccharomyces cerevisae. 60% respondents of the questionnaires agreed on using additives to speed up fermentation. Experiments were carried out in which the result shows that yeasted fermentation yields more alcohol than natural fermentation and also reduce the period of fermentation.