---

The Source Of Alcohol

---

source

Arenga Palm has advantages compared to other bioethanol raw materials such as cassava and corn (starch-producing plants) due to the stage that is done just one stage of fermentation stage, whereas bioethanol derived from the herbaceous plants require mild hydrolysis (saccharification) to change the starch polymer into simple sugars .

source

Arenga Palm in some areas other than as a sweetener, through the process of fermentation, arenga palm converted into alcoholic beverages known as wine. Alcohol produced scientifically known as Ethanol arenga can be converted into bioethanol. Bioethanol is a fuel of vegetable oil with the help of fermentation by yeast bacteria (Saccharomyces cereviseae) where the sugar content (sukrosa) in sapras is converted to glucose and then to ethanol whose product referred to as bioethanol.

The use of alcohol in various interests. Not only as a liquor-making material. Alcohol can also be used as cosmetic ingredients, medicines, solvents, antiseptics, and organic chemical fuels. 

Ethanol produced from the fermentation process is then distilled to separate ethanol and water to 95-96%. Then the process for separating ethanol and water to 99.5% was done by using molecular sieve or using pervaporous membrane. This 99.5% ethanol can be used to fuel alternative energy.

---

The Function

---

source

Arenga Palm can be used, either function as conservation, or production function that produce various commodities that have economic value. As for the commonly harvested of arenga from various types of palm (Arenga pinnata, Borassus flabellifer, Cocos Nucifera and Nypa Fruticans) the total content of sugarnya ranges from 10-20%. If cultivated properly, it will be very potential to be used for making ethanol, because the productivity can reach 20 tons of sugar per hectare per year (Dalibard, 1997).

1. Conservation Function

Sugar trees with shallow and wide roots will be very useful to prevent soil erosion. As well as fairly thick leaves and stems that are covered with a layer of fibers, will be very effective to withstand the drop of rain water directly on the surface of the soil. Besides that the palm tree that can grow well on the cliffs, will be very good as the erosion prevention tree erosion.

2. Production Function

The production function of palm trees can be obtained from roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruit. In Javanese root palm is used for various traditional medicine (Heyne, 1927; Dongen, 1913 in Burkil 1935). Fresh roots can produce wine that can be used as a medicine for constipation, dysentery and lung disease medicine. Hard stems are used as household appliance makers and some are used as building materials. The inner trunk can produce sago as a source of carbohydrate used as a feedstock in baking, noodles and mixing glue (Miller, 1964). While the tip of a young stalk (umbut) that tastes sweet can be used as a vegetable major (Burkil, 1935). Young leaves, leaf bones and leaf sheath, can also be used for cigarette wrap, broom stick and bottle cap instead of cork. Flower stalk when cut will produce liquid form of sugar-containing sugars and can be processed into palm sugar or wine (Steeniset.al., 1975).

---

Ethyl Alcohol

---

source

Ethyl alcohol or ethanol is either a derivative of a hydroxyl compound or an OH group, by the chemical formula C2H5OH. A common term often used for such compounds, is alcohol. Ethanol has a colorless, volatile, water-soluble nature, molecular weight of 46.1, boiling point of 78.3 ° c, freezing at -117.3 ° c, density 0.789 at 20 ° c, calorific value 7077 cal / Gram, hot latent evaporation of 204 cal / gram and has octane number 91-105. 

Ethanol can be used for various purposes. Once mixed in gasoline, used as fuel in various countries such as Brazil, the United States, Argentina, Australia, Cuba, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland and others. At the time of World War I and II the alcohol industry developed rapidly, with the main objective as fuel. In addition ethanol is widely used also in the beverage industry, cosmetics and pharmacy industries such as detergents, disinfectants and others. Alcohol from petroleum products or otherwise known as synthetic alcohols is widely used for raw materials in the acetaldehyde industry, acetyl derivatives and others.

Ethanol (C2H5OH) is a very important compound and is used solvent, disinfectant in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, chemical and chemical industries as a raw material for synthesis of the manufacture of chemicals such as aldehyde, acetic acid. Ethanol used is a technical ethanol with 95-96% ethanol as fuel requires ethanol with a higher content of 99.5% ethanol or Fuel Grade Ethanol (FGE).
Making ethanol can be done in 2 ways:

• By synthesis of ethylene
  Ethanol is produced from the synthesis of ethylene which is a petroleum derivate by a process called hydration. That is the ethylene chemical reaction with water:

C2H4 + H2O => C2H5OH

• With fermentation process
  The process of fermentation can be done on sugary materials such as palm sugar
  Reaction of fermentation process:

C6H12O6 <=> 2C2H5OH + 2CO2

Ethanol produced from the fermentation process is then distilled to separate ethanol and water to 95-96%. Then the process for separating ethanol and water to 99.5% was done by using molecular sieve or using pervaporous membrane.

---

Conclusion

---

Fermentation is the process of energy production in cells in anaerobic state (without oxygen). In general, fermentation is one form of anaerobic respiration, however, there is a clearer definition that defines fermentation as respiration in an anaerobic environment with no external electron acceptor.
Distillation is the process of disposal of water from the ethanol in which the water content is still high. The basic principle of the distillation process is to separate two liquid mixtures (in this case ethanol and water) by utilizing the boiling point difference of the two liquids. Ethanol with a lower boiling point (80 degrees) of water (100 degrees) will be evaporated by heating.

Source : 1, 2, 3, 4