• Question: can ethanol be extracted from cassava and how

    Asked by mogo to Dorcas, Jay Oty, Mel, Chapa, Priscilla on 1 Oct 2014.
    • Photo: Priscilla Ngotho

      Priscilla Ngotho answered on 1 Oct 2014:

      Hi mogo,

      Yes ethanol can be extracted from cassava. Ethanol is the by product of fermentation. Fermentation is the process by which Yeast, a small microbe breaks down sugar or starch into energy, ethanol and carbon dioxide. cassava has a lot of starch and can be fermented to make ethanol. To make ethanol from cassava, you will need to add yeast to a cassava in an airtight container (because fermentation occurs in the absence of oxygen) and wait for your ethanol 🙂

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