The Fun Guy (Fungi) Kingdom: The Effects of Different Sugars and Concentrations on Ethanol Production

Abstract

Our study focuses on how the addition of sugars and their concentrations alter the ethanol production of the yeast. We achieved this by testing the sugars glucose and sucrose at different masses and comparing the ethanol production of each. Our results supported our hypothesis in that the glucose yielded the most ethanol, but in reasonable amounts of it. The results showed us that the ethanol production at high and low concentrations of sugar is not comparable to the AB&B Laboratory standards recommended mass of sugar (French 2015). Although there was some support for the use of sugars other than glucose for the improvement in ethanol production in yeast, further studies are necessary to see what sugars will be the most beneficial. This study can be used as a supplement to other studies that are similar because it not only compares different sugars, but finds the best amount of sugar to add to maximize yeast’s ethanol production.