ABSTRACT

The rapid growth of the world population and industrialization have led to an increase in the demand for energy, and the pollution of the atmosphere by fossil fuel exhaust has paved the way for new and safe energy sources, efficient and environmentally friendly, such as bioethanol. Bioethanol is an important renewable biofuel that can be used neat or in blends. This study focuses on the production of bioethanol from Palm bunches, which are residual waste of agricultural products, to reduce environmental pollution. In this study, the kinetics of the hydrolysis of palm bunch waste were investigated. The samples were held in a water bath at a fixed temperature of 40°C while the dwell time of the samples in the water bath varied from ten (10) to sixty (60) minutes. This procedure was repeated at 60, 80 and 100°C for six runs. From the various results obtained, ranging from plots and estimates of constants and kinetic parameters, direct proportionalities were observed, as evidenced by the relationships between temperature, time, absorbance, concentration, etc.

This means that sugar yields were highest at higher temperatures and highest under controlled conditions. This was found at 100°C, 60 minutes and a sugar yield of 1949.2 mg/l. In addition, plotting -In(1-xa) versus time provided a line graph showing the hydrolysis process after the first-order reaction.