OPTIMIZATION OF ETHANOL PRODUCTION FROM ROOTS OF TUBEROUS PLANTS: THE CASE OF CASSAVA

Madagascar has several varieties of tuberous plants such as cassava, sweet potato, and tarot. These tubers can be valorized for energy purposes to be used as a renewable energy source, such as bioethanol. Studies and research carried out in the CNRIT laboratory have contributed to the optimization of the process of making ethanol from cassava. Thus, improvement experiments have been carried out on the manufacturing process, among others: Techniques for pre-treating cassava before fermentation, the choice of the optimal duration of fermentation and The temperature control of the grinding operation. This allowed the identification of the optimal parameters to opt for the production of ethanol from cassava such as: - unpeeled, fresh, crushed cassava is the raw material used; - the duration of fermentation is 3 days; - the quantity of yeast is 5%; - the grinding temperature must not exceed 125°C for the set point temperature of the boiler regulator and 78°C for the set point temperature of the head regulator of the grinding column, respectively