Biohydrolysis of Banana and Plantain Peels for the Production of Biofuel

This study was carried out to assess the potentials of banana and plantain peel as feedstock for biofuel production. Fungi were isolated from spoiled banana, burkutu and spoiled bread using the standard microbiological method. The concentration of reducing sugar of the peels were measured using DNS calorimetry method and biofuel were measured using chromium (VI) reagent by Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrophotometer. Aspergillus niger, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Mucor racemusus were isolated. A reducing sugar concentration of 59.12 mg/g and 56.62 mg/g was observed for the banana and plantain peels. The highest concentration was found to be 0.35 mg/L for banana peels and 0.10 mg/L for plantain. The IR characterization of the banana and plantain sample revealed an intense strong broad band of alcohol O-H and alkane C-H stretching. The GC-MS result revealed the presence of benzaldehyde in all the biomass while 2,3-butanediol was only detected in the plantain peels biomass. This study showed the potential of banana and plantain peels biomass for biofuel production.