Influence on the Productivity of Ethanol by two Strains of Yeasts in must Fermentation of Sweet Sorghum

Abstract

Currently, the world's energetic matrix is in a modification, resulting from the worsening global warming. In this scenario, Brazil presents the generation of electric energy through Hydro consolidated, as well as the ethanol in gasoline replacement in vehicles. This biofuel is produced from the ethanolic fermentation of sugar cane juice or residual molasses of sugar manufacturing. With the high marketing of "flex-fuel" cars in the country, it is estimated that the demand will increase considerably, being necessary to the expansion of sugar cane plantations, or the use of other raw materials that can complement the production. In this context, the sweet sorghum outstands, which have been studied by presenting short vegetative cycle, high-yield in ethanol per area, co-generation from bagasse burning, the possibility of mechanization, besides being cultivated in sugar cane plantations renewal areas. Considering that sweet sorghum is a relatively new crop, there is a lack of information in the literature concerning the ethanol production process. In this sense, one can cite even the behavior of different strains of yeasts in the ethanolic fermentation of sweet sorghum juice and the characteristics of the resulting wine. In this way, the objective of this work was to assess the influence of yeast strains PE-2 and BG-1 in the must fermentation process of sweet sorghum, it was observed that the raw material offers levels of sugars suitable for industrial processing, and the PE-2 adapt more easily to the must sweet sorghum than the BG-1, producing high alcoholic content.