In an interview, Mr. Rajah Sika, the Production Manager of the company said, Cassava is a great Crop for Ethanol Production because it produces high yields and boasts tremendous starch content, therefore producing high amount of Ethanol.
He said, we make use of 250 tons of Cassava per day, and have difficulty in getting cassava since we mainly get
Cassava from Oyo and Ogun States. “Once the cassava is selected and
weighted, if weighted 20-23, we pay N14,000 and if it is weighted extra,
it attract the sum of #750.”
However,
the Cassava needs to be washed and chopped to facilitate further
processing. The Cassava is reduced into cassava chips and mixed with
water, converted to cassava starch molecules and sugar,.
According
to Mr. Rajah, Ethanol is produced by fermenting and distilling bio
mass. In the fermentation process, sugar and starch molecules are broken
down by yeast to produce Ethanol. Water evaporates in the distillation
process, thereby increasing the purity of Ethanol.
Furthermore, Ethanol is the base of most alcoholic beverages and is
used in many pharmaceutical and beauty products. An enormous advantage
of cassava processing is that we are able to collect spillage and
organic waste to produce bio gas and fertilizer.
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