title: Bio-ethanol production from non-food parts of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz).
abstract: Global climate issues and a looming energy crisis put agriculture under pressure in Sub-Saharan Africa. Climate adaptation measures must entail sustainable development benefits, and growing crops for food as well as energy may be a solution, removing people from hunger and poverty without compromising the environment. The present study investigated the feasibility of using non-food parts of cassava for energy production and the promising results revealed that at least 28% of peels and stems comprise dry matter, and 10 g feedstock yields >8.5 g sugar, which in turn produced >60% ethanol, with pH ≈ 2.85, 74-84% light transmittance and a conductivity of 368 mV, indicating a potential use of cassava feedstock for ethanol production. Thus, harnessing cassava for food as well as ethanol production is deemed feasible. Such a system would, however, require supportive policies to acquire a balance between food security and fuel.
authors.affiliation: National Agricultural Research organization, National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), P.O. Box 7084, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: Ephraim
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nuwamanya
authors.forename: Linley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chiwona-Karltun
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Kawuki
authors.forename: Yona
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Baguma
mesh_terms: D056804:Biofuels; D057231:Climate Change; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D005523:Food Supply; D006801:Humans; D002365:Manihot
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D000431:Ethanol