Ethyl Alcohol Production from Red Algae using Fermentation Process with Yeast

Red algae are microscopic photosynthetic organisms found in sea water. They contain high amount of carbohydrates such as starch and cellulose. They also contain lipids and proteins. They have gained importance in the production of alternative source of fossil fuel. The extracted carbohydrates from marine algae can be used as a source for the production of ethanol. Algae are also the optimal source for second generation bio ethanol due to the fact that they are high in carbohydrates/polysaccharides and thin cellulose walls. In our work, we investigated the possible use of Saccharomyces cerevisiaeVITS-M2 for ethanol production using the carbohydrates extracted from marine algae. The algal sample was collected and carbohydrate was extracted. Extracted carbohydrate was used for fermentation using yeast culture and ethanol was produced. The fermented product, ethanol was distilled by using laboratory model distillation unit and measured qualitatively using G.C (E.C.D) chromatography in comparison with the standard analytical grade ethanol. The overall experimental data provided us the potential of marine algae in the production of ethanol.