Does Type of Water Affect Product Yield of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae?

Abstract

We tested deionized water and tap water to find out how different types of water affect product yield in yeast fermentation. We hypothesized that deionized water would lead to a greater product yield, because there are less minerals which could chemically interfere in deionized water than regular tap water. In this experiment, we used deionized water and tap water with saccharomyces cerevisiae to record which type of water yields the most products. Results were recorded in 5 trials each via LoggerPro for a trial duration of 10 minutes each. We found that tap water resulted in a higher output of carbon dioxide (ppm/min) and deionized water resulted in more ethanol. We concluded that deionized water is a better choice for products requiring a high ethanol yield, but tap water is better for products requiring less ethanol but a higher carbon dioxide output.