Optimization of the production of Bioethanol from waste Newspaper using Yeast isolate from Palm oil polluted soil

The high cost of bioethanol resulting from the uneconomical price of feedstocks has led to the investigation of potential feedstocks from inedible substances such as lignocellulosic materials including waste biomass. One of the problems of producing bioethanol from waste biomass is low yield coupled with the high cost of organic catalysts. The current work was geared towards optimizing the concentration of bioethanol from the fermentation of waste newspapers using yeast isolate from palm oil polluted soil. The optimization was conducted using Central Composite Design in Design Expert software. The experimental parameters considered included pH, inoculum size, incubation time and carbon:nitrogen ratio, and the results obtained show that quadratic models best fitted bioethanol, yeast biomass and reducing sugar  experimental data. The interaction of inoculum size and incubation time impacted most on the concentrations of the bioethanol, yeast biomass and reducing sugar. The optimum concentrations of bioethanol (30.12 mg/mL), yeast biomass (0.82 mg/mL) and reducing sugar (3.0 mg/mL) were obtained using operating condition of pH (7), inoculum size (6 %), inocubation time (14 days) and carbon:nitrogen ratio (52). The bioethanol being produced from waste feedstock, and yeast isolated from palm oil polluted soil could be more economical than the conventional gasoline, and the process developed could serve as a sustainable waste newspaper disposal management.