Scientists Seawater Fuel Discovery Cuts Demands on Freshwater Use

(University of Huddersfield) The use of seawater in the production of bioethanol significantly reduces of water footprint in the bioethanol production industry. Bioethanol is a climate-friendly alternative to petrol and its adoption has been encouraged by many governments.

In the fight against global warming, bioethanol fuel is seen as a climate-friendly alternative to petrol and its adoption has been encouraged by many governments. But producing it requires huge amounts of freshwater – a precious resource in many parts of the world. Now, scientists at the University of Huddersfield have shown how it is possible to use a seawater-based system instead.

A new article in a leading journal describes how a strain of marine yeast can be used with seawater and a substrate, such as molasses, for a fermentation process that produces bioethanol. Current methods can have a water footprint of more than 1,000 litres of fresh water to produce a single litre of the fuel.

“This research is the first step towards a potentially significant reduction of water footprint in the bioethanol production industry,” said Dr Chenyu Du, who is Reader in Chemical Engineering at the University of Huddersfield’s Department of Chemical Sciences.

Fermentation and bio-processes are among his key areas of interest and his career has included research into chemical production from sustainable raw materials and the development of a new generation of biofuels. He was the academic supervisor for Dr Abdelrahman Zaky, whose University of Huddersfield PhD – titled Utilisation of novel marine yeast and seawater-based media for the production of bioethanol – was awarded last year.

Now Dr Du and Dr Zaky are lead authors of an article that appears in Scientific Reports, demonstrating that “seawater can substitute freshwater for bioethanol production without compromising production efficiency” and that “marine yeast is a potential candidate for use in the bioethanol industry, especially when using seawater or high salt-based fermentation media”. READ MORE