Extraction of Ethanol from Nypa fruticans (Nipa) Palm Fruit

Abstract

Northern Samar is abundant when it comes to nipa resource which has a big potential as a raw material for ethanol. Utilization of nipa in Northern Samar is not optimal due to low interest and ability to process into useful products. The main aim of the study is to extract ethanol from nipa fruit to control the shortage of ethyl alcohol in the province. Fermentation was carried out after collection, washing, and cutting of nipa fruit through mixing 15 g of baker’s yeast to convert the sugar into alcohol for 12 days. Then, the distillation process followed to remove the excess water from the alcohol. Lastly, purification was done by adding lime (Calcium oxide) into the distillate in order to obtain ethanol. Result showed that the presence of ethanol was not observed after the 24 hours of fermentation since nipa fruit takes longer time to yield concentrated ethanol. But after 72 hours after fermentation it showed positive result from Iodoform test, Ester test, Litmus test, and Flammability test. It was concluded that nipa palm fruit could be a viable source of ethanol as compared to other plant-producing ethanol.