Aiming for sustainable and low-cost

Aiming for sustainable and low-cost production, bioethanol production using lignocellulosic wastes, such as
sugarcane bagasse and waste from banana crops, has been extensively explored. The recovery step is usually carried out during the distillation process and is challenging, particularly regarding energy issues. This study aimed to
evaluate the bioethanol recovery from banana culture waste as a function of the reflux ratio in a process employing a
batch distillation column. Tests were performed using a standard mixture of ethanol and water and using total reflux
and ratios 0.5, 1 and 2. As expected, the best result was obtained with the highest reflux ratio, and it was under this
condition that the broth obtained from the fermentation process was distilled. The maximum ethanol t in the distillate
was 67% (wt%), which is less than the 93% composition that was obtained using the standard mixture; however, this
is a promising result because inferior values are typically obtained in distilleries using a single column. Also, this
value is close to others reported in literature for bioethanol distillation obtained with different residues and higher
reflux ratio. Batch distillation is appropriate and feasible for implementation in the production of bioethanol from
banana waste in small production units intended for the production of biofuels, beverages or commercial alcohol.