Assessing the Potential of Local Yeast Isolate for Biomass Conversion Into Bioethanol

Bioethanol is one of the potential future fuels that could replace fossil fuels. In general, bioethanol is produced from biomass by microbial fermentation. The production efficiency of this bioethanol depends mainly on the chemical composition of the feedstock and the type of microorganisms used. In this study, previously local yeast isolate Saccharomyces cerevisiae S3 was used for the production of bioethanol using sugarcane molasses as substrate.  A maximum ethanol concentration of 56.64 g/l was obtained after 72 h at pH 4.5, 30°C and 15 °Brix under aerobic conditions. These results showed that Saccharomyces cerevisiae S3 can be used as a promising yeast for ethanol production from sugarcane molasses.