A production of bioethanol through the bioconversion of water hyacinth: A review

Abstract

The demand for energy is increasing due to the rapid progress of industrial development while the amount of fossil fuels is decreasing day by day. Scientists are constantly looking for alternative sources of fossil fuels that will be sustainable but not harmful to the environment. Ethanol from biomass is an attractive, sustainable, and less toxic, less polluting fuel source in the modern era and the age of industrialization. The lignocellulose present in water hyacinth is a renewable source which is considered as a suitable alternative source of biomass for energy production. Cellulose aquatic plants are water hyacinth which have high carbohydrate, low lignin content and significantly lower reducing sugar infrastructure which is converted to fermentable sugar and later to ethanol. Ethanol production from water hyacinth involves two main types of conventional processes, firstly, lignin removal by pre-treatment of plant components, secondly, conversion of pre-treatment material to bioethanol through hydrolysis and fermentation process. This paper reviews all the conventional processes of making bioethanol from water hyacinth. The hydrolysis process mainly for acid and alkali and the fermentation process of yeast used for the production of bioethanol from water hyacinth have been discussed comparatively. Due to its low cost and easy availability, bioethanol from water hyacinth makes a strong promise in the 21st century.