Current Research Journal of Biological Sciences 3(1): 42-51, 2011 ISSN: 2041-0778 © Maxwell Scientific Organization, 2011 Received: October 19, 2010 Accepted: November 22, 2010 Published: January 15, 2011 Corresponding Author: Dr. K. Suthindhiran, Assistant Professor, School of Biosciences and Technology, VIT University, Vellore-632014, Tamil Nadu, India. Tel.: +91 9944367090; Fax: +91-416- 2243092 / 2240411 42 Ethanol Production from Sago Waste Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae Vits-M1 D. Subashini, J. Ejilane, A. Radha, M.A. Jayasri and K. Suthindhiran School of Biosciences and Technology, VIT University, Vellore-632014, Tamil Nadu, India Abstract: The present study deals with the biotechnological production of ethanol from sago waste materials. As petroleum has become depleted, renewable energy production has started to gain attention all over the world, including the production of ethanol from sago wastes. In our research we have standardized the production of ethanol from sago wastes using Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain isolated from molasses. The production of ethanol was carried out by means of simultaneous saccharification with acids, followed by fermentation. The yeast strains were isolated from either batter or molasses and the taxonomy was studied by phenotypic characters in comparison with the standard strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae MTCC 173. Among the two isolated strains, S. cerevisiae VITS-M1 isolated from molasses showed better survival rate in different sugars such as glucose, sucrose, maltose and galactose except lactose; it also showed better survival rate at high ethanol concentration and at acidic pH. The saccharification process of sago liquid waste and solid waste was standardized using hydrochloric acid and sulphuric acid under different treatments. The fermented product, ethanol was distilled using laboratory model distillation unit and measured qualitatively using gas chromatography in comparison with the standard analytical grade ethanol. The overall experimental data indicates that the sago liquid waste yielded more ethanol by simultaneous saccharification with 0.3N HCl and 0.3N H 2 SO 4 and fermentation with the S. cerevisiae VITS-M1 isolated from molasses. Key words: Ethanol, fermentation, saccharification, Saccharomyces cerevisiae VITS-M1, sago wastes INTRODUCTION Ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, can be made from any sugary (or) starchy agricultural crop such as corn, barley, wheat or from cellulosic biomass such as wood, paper pulp or agricultural waste (Thomas and Kwong, 2001). Large quantities of ethanol are used as solvent and chemical feed stock in various industries. Although most of the industrial ethanol is currently produced from the catalytic conversion of ethylene, considerable research has been focused on fermentation based ethanol production from various renewable biomass sources (Ladisch and Svarczkopf, 1991; Worley et al ., 1992; Sosulski and Sosulski, 1994; Ingledew et al., 1995; Wang et al., 1997). During energy crisis in 1970s, there were numerous research efforts directed towards the development of alternative energy sources, and ethanol production from agricultural products (Nagashima et al., 1984). Consequently, this technology has been successfully used in Brazil where a large number of cars are run on either Gasohol (76% gasoline and 24% ethanol) or pure ethanol. Furthermore, the use of lead in gasoline has been prohibited in many countries and ethanol is now used in place of lead as an octane enhancer. The world ethyl alcohol production has reached about 51,000 mL (Renewable Fuels Association, 2007), being the USA and Brazil the first producers. In average, 73% of produced ethanol worldwide corresponds to fuel ethanol, 17% to beverage ethanol and 10% to industrial ethanol. Tapioca cassava (Manihot esculenta crantz ) was introduced in India during the later part of the 17 th century by the Portuguese living in the state of Kerala. Cassava, a tuber crop which is also known as manioc, sagu, yucca and tapioca is one of the most potential root crops with great potentials for bioethanol production. It is one of the most important subsistence food and industrial crop for the developing countries (Balagopalan et al., 1988). Cassava starch costs 15-30% less to produce per acre than corn starch making cassava an alternate and strategic source of renewable energy, raising the possibility that it could be used globally to alleviate dependence on fossil fuels (Hankoua and Besong, 2009). Tapioca is valued for its starch content and mainly used by sago industries. Recently cassava has emerged as the primary starch based feed stock for future fuel ethanol production in Africa and Asia (Drapoch, 2008). It has been vital for many industries with the application of biotechnology, especially in the fermentation industries. There are about 800 sago and starch units situated throughout the state of Tamilnadu, India. The sago industry is spread over Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Erode, Trichy and Perambalur districts of Tamilnadu, India. Cassava is one of the main sources for ethanol production (Lindeman and