Comparative Evaluation of Bio-ethanol Production in Selected Palm Tree Species

Palm trees are usually considered as being useful and having economic value, however a particular breed which is referred to as Nypa palm often times found in mangrove biomas sometime become a source of environmental nuisance and concern. The study compared the bioethanol production rate from Oil palm (Ealasis guinesis), Raphia palm (Raphia hookeria) and Nypa palm (Nypa fruticana) which are locally available species in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. Results obtained from the study indicates that using both natural and catalysed (using saccharomyces cerevisae) fermentation process the Nypa palm (Nypa fruticana) popularly called “Imo Palm” exhibited the highest bioethanol production level. Bioethanol production followed the trend Nypa palm>Oil palm>Rafia palm for both the natural and catalysed fermentation processes. The peak values of bioethanol content after six days fermentation stood at 40%, 48% and 65% for Raffia, Oil and Nypa palm respectively under natural fermentation process while the peak bioethanol concentration for the catalysed process was observed to be 55%, 71% and 78.5% for Raffia, Oil and Nypa palm respectively. Findings from this could go a long way in changing the perception that this crop could be a nuisance as the use of this palm cell sap could turn out to be a valuable asset in the area of bioethanol production and ultimately renewable energy production and substantial income generation source.