Abstract:
Bioethanol is an attractive source of energy when compared to fossil fuel. It
is renewable and environmentally friendly due to its low toxicity and bio-
degradability. The first generation bioethanol derived from is limited by the
high cost of production of these crops and danger posed to food security.
This study investigated the use of wild maerua shrub in production of bioe-
thanol in comparison to cultivated food crops. Fermentation was done us-
ing Yeasts Y1, Y2 and Y3. Yeasts Y1 and Y2 were isolated from finger millet
malt, while Y3 was the commercial yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Fermented
plant samples were distilled, oxidized and analysed at 595nm using UV-Visible
spectrophotometer. Statgraphics centurion XVI.I was used for statistical ana-
lyses. The concentration (g/L) was obtained from a formula and converted to
(g/L).The ethanol concentration (g/L) and productivity (g/L/h) were as fol-
lows; cassava (64.052 ± 0.098; 1.334), maize (66.670 ± 0.227; 1.389), sorghum
(62.382 ± 2.148b; 1.300) and maerua shrub (61.988 ± 0.160, 1.291) which
were significantly higher compared to sugarcane molasses (49.978 g/L, 1.041)
when fermented by Y2. Mean ethanol concentration (g/L) and productivity
(g/L/h) for plants across all yeasts were comparable (p-value = 0.4239). Maerua
Shrub should be used as an alternative sugar source for bioethanol produc-
tion
