A SIMPLE EQUATION FOR TOTAL REDUCING SUGARS (TRS) ESTIMATION ON SWEET POTATO AND ETHANOL YIELD POTENTIAL

ABSTRACT Sweet potato is an attractive feedstock for ethanol production due to its high starch content and favorable agronomic characteristics. This paper proposes a simple equation to estimate the total reducing sugars (including glucose from starch) in sweet potatoes based on their moisture content (low cost and simple measurement). It allows the calculation of the ethanol production potential of a given sweet potato mash. According to the equation, the ethanol potential increases non-linearly with increasing concentrations of sweet potato mash in the fermenting medium (w/v), reaching a constant value for high concentrations (22 % of ethanol to 10 kg: L of a sweet potato with a moisture content of 66 %). Additionally, the ethanol yield potential is very sensitive to the sweet potato moisture, increasing linearly when the moisture decreases. We emphasize that the relations proposed in this paper can be used by other researchers, who can apply them to their specific cases.

摘要 甘薯因淀粉含量高、农艺性状优良，成为乙醇生产的极具吸引力的原料。本文提出了一种基于含水率（测量成本低廉、操作简便）估算甘薯中总还原糖（total reducing sugars，包含淀粉水解产生的葡萄糖）的简易方程，可用于计算特定甘薯醪液的乙醇生产潜力。根据该方程，乙醇潜力随发酵培养基中甘薯醪液质量体积比（w/v）浓度的升高呈非线性增长，高浓度下达到恒定值：对于含水率66%的甘薯，每10 kg该甘薯对应1 L发酵体系可产出22%浓度的乙醇。此外，乙醇产率潜力对甘薯含水率极为敏感，随含水率降低呈线性增长。本文强调，本研究提出的关联式可供其他科研人员应用于各自的特定研究场景。