B.S. ANURADHA, S. JEEVAN CHANDRA AND S. RAM REDDY
Abstract
Investigations on possible use of different starches viz., potato starch, cassava starch, rice starch and corn starch as raw materials for ethanol production with seventeen strains of yeasts revealed that potato starch followed by cassava starch was found to be suitable, because of their easy digestibility by the two commercial enzymes, viz. Biotempase and Amylo 300L employed in the present investigations. Among the different ratios of enzymes investigated, a ratio of 3:7 of the two enzymes was found to yield better results in terms of both release of utilizable sugars and alcohol production. Interestingly, some strains were found to hydrolyze the raw starches, though in small quantities, even in the absence of externally supplied enzymes. In majority of the cases, good positive correlation between the released reducing sugars and alcohol produced was observed.