By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol can be used as fuel alcohol, drinking alcohol, and grain alcohol. The common type of ethanol is the one found in alcoholic beverages. It is also used as fuel for cars and often called alcohol or spirit.
Ethanol is generally produced by the fermentation of sugar, cellulose, or converted starch and has a long history.
In Nigeria, local production of ethanol from maize, guinea corn, millet, other starchy substrates, and cellulose is as old as the country itself.
In an article by the Nigerian Cassava Growers Association, Cassava is one of the richest fermentable substances for the production of crude alcohol/ethanol.
The article noted that Cassava produces a better quality alcohol, and the distilling technique employed ensures a high quality product, free from all type of odours and not harmful to the environment.
In explaining the two types of ethanol, the article noted that there are two types of ethanol:Edible ethanol and Industrial ethanol.
The edible types are usually used for alcoholic beverage production while industrial are used in industries like perfumery, cosmetics and blending with refined petroleum products.
The capacity of the proposed plant is 7,500 litres of edible ethanol 95.5 % per day and the plant would operate for 24 hours for 300 day per annum. It is important to state that the lower the operating hours, the higher the operational cost per liter of ethanol. The actual amount of cassava needed is dependent upon the starch content.
The domestic demand for ethanol is estimated at over 200 million litres annually. With a population of over 165 million people and an estimated national population growth rate of 5.7% per annum ,an average economic growth rate of 3.5% per annum in the past five {5} years, Nigeria has a large market for ethanol.
As by-products, the plant would also produce industry ethanol / alcohol, fusel oil and carbon dioxide {CO2} in a day.
Fusel alcohols, also sometimes called fusel oils, or potato oil in Europe, are a mixture of several alcohols (chiefly amyl alcohol) produced as a by-product of alcoholic fermentation. The word Fusel is German for “bad liquor”. It is bad for drink, but it is good material for aromatic water.
Aromatic waters are clear aqueous solution saturated with volatile Oils (e.g. rose oil, Peppermint oil, or other aromatic or volatile substances e.g camphor. Their odours and taste are of those of the drugs or volatile substances from which they are prepared.
Aromatic waters may be used for perfuming, flavoring or for special purposes.
Carbon dioxide (chemical formula CO2) is a naturally-occurring chemical compound composed of 2 oxygen atoms each covalently double bonded to a single carbon atom. Carbon dioxide is produced during the processes of decay of organic materials and the fermentation of sugars in beer and winemaking.
Carbon dioxide is used by the food industry, the oil industry, and the chemical industry. Carbon dioxide is a food additive used as a propellant and acidity regulator in the food industry. Carbon dioxide is used to produce carbonated soft drinks and soda water.
The National President of the Association also informed that the Kebbi state government, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are collaborating to boost cassava farming for ethanol production.
