Browsing by Author "NAMULINDA, MABLE"

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    Bioethanol production from waste pineapple peelings as a value addition approach to waste management
    (Busitema university, 2026-09-11) NAMULINDA, MABLE
    Bioethanol production from agricultural wastes has gained increasing attention as a sustainable approach to renewable energy generation and environmental conservation due to the increasing accumulation of agricultural and fruit wastes and inadequate waste management and poor disposal practices. This study focuses on the production of bioethanol from agricultural fruit waste with a specific focus on pineapple peelings as a value addition approach to waste management. Large quantities of pineapple peelings are discarded from homes, markets and fruit processing industries, leading to environmental pollution from unpleasant odors and poor waste disposal practices, so, there is need to develop a cost-effective and eco-friendly method to manage wastes and value to them through fermentation process and produce sustainable bioethanol. Pineapple peelings contain considerable amounts of fermentable sugars that can be converted into useful products like bioethanol. The main objectives of the study were: to produce and determine the concentration of bioethanol from fresh and dried pineapple peelings then compare the yield. Ripe pineapple peelings, both dried and fresh were subjected to pretreatment by pounding and blending respectively to form fine mixture and powder, then acid hydrolysis using 5 % sulphuric acid to break the complex carbohydrates into fermentable sugars, then added sodium hydroxide to neutralize the acid. Fermentation was then carried out using yeast, baker’s yeast (saccharomyces cerevisiae) and distillation to obtain bioethanol. The findings revealed that both fresh and dried pineapple peelings successfully produced bioethanol, although dried pineapple peelings yielded higher concentration of ethanol compared to fresh peelings. This difference was attributed to the higher concentration of fermentable sugars present in the dried substrate due to reduced moisture content. The study therefore demonstrates that pineapple peel waste can effectively be utilized for bioethanol production, thereby reducing environmental waste while generating a valuable renewable energy. Therefore, the study demonstrates the potential of converting agricultural waste into economically and environmentally beneficial products.