Ethanol Production in Yeast According to Sugar Type

Abstract

The production of ethanol in yeast can be changed by the type of sugar used in making the yeast. We wanted to find the difference in the outcomes, regarding the type of sugar used. In order to test this, we selected four samples of sugar (Table sugar, Corn sugar, Brown sugar and Stevia) and added them to our yeast solutions for testing. The solutions were mixed for 10 minutes and ethanol production was collected with an ethanol sensing probe. The results are displayed using a bar graph showing the statistics of ethanol production increase for each sugar type. Our results showed a trend that the more calories a sugar has, the more ethanol is yielded, with the exception of table sugar and brown sugar. After reviewing our results, we began to realize that if we were to repeat this experiment, we would instead study chemical makeup of the sugars instead of caloric content.