Studies on ethanol production at 37 C in a 5 l jar fermenter using 3 l of a sugar cane juice medium composed of sugar cane juice supplemented with sucrose to 22% total sugars, 0.05% (NH4)2SO4, 0.05% KH2PO4, 0.15% MgSO4 Æ 7H2O and having a pH of 5.0 were conducted under various fermentation conditions including (1) agitation at 300 rpm, (2) agitation at 300 rpm with aeration at 0.2 vvm, (3) agitation at 300 rpm throughout the fermentation with aeration at 0.2 vvm for the first 12 h and (4) agitation at 300 rpm with aeration at 0.2 vvm for the first 12 h, followed by only agitation at 150 rpm.