Conceptual Design of an Industrial-Scale Plant for Ethanol Production from Taro Waste

Sustainable utilization of agricultural wastes has gained attention due to increasing amount of waste generated from both field and manufacturing processes. These wastes contain huge potential of untapped energy that can be utilized after undergoing adequate treatment. Bioethanol, a bioenergy source of high efficiency and low environmental impact, is produced through fermentation of sugar by specific microorganisms. In this study, a conceptual design of ethanol production from taro waste by Saccharomyces cerevisiae was proposed based on data and references. An industrial-scale plant was designed to produce 5 million liters ethanol annually accounting for about 0.5% of the annual ethanol demand in Taiwan. The fermentation section of the plant consists of two feed tanks, where taro waste is diluted and standardized, one batch (aerobic) reactor for microbial culture enrichment, and two parallel systems each consisting of two continuous (an aerobic and an anaerobic respectively) reactors for further culture enrichment and ethanol production.