The Effect of Yeast Types on the Production of Bioethanol from the Waste of Pondoh Snake Fruit (Salacca zalacca)

Abstract

The need for fuel oil as an energy source is increasing every day, while fossil energy reserves are running low; therefore, to meet fuel needs, it is necessary to develop alternative fuels that are renewable and environmentally friendly. One of them is bioethanol, namely ethanol made from plants containing starch, sugar, and cellulose, such as pondoh snake fruit waste. This research aims to determine the quantity of bioethanol, calorific value, and flame test results, with various types of yeast, that is, fermented cassava (tape) yeast and bread yeast. The bioethanol production process in this research utilizes a Pasteurization–Fermentation–Distillation process. The pasteurization used a water bath at a constant temperature of 70⁰C for 30 minutes. The fermentation process was conducted for 4 days, followed by a 5-hour distillation. The bioethanol produced in this study has the best of the yeast variety of bread yeast, where the highest volume is 17.5 ml, the heating value is 4.215,21 cal/g, and the flame test has the highest flame height of 18 cm with a flame duration of 8 minutes. The flame test results of bioethanol with variations of bread yeast produced a blue-orange flame, while bioethanol with variations of tape yeast produced a bluish-orange flame.