The Feasibility of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Peel as an Alternative Substrate for Butanol Production

The suitability of dried mango peel as substrate for biobutanol production was investigated. The amount of mango waste generated can be very high; it has been recorded as high as 30% to 50% of the total weight of the fruit. The utilization of this waste is both a necessity and a challenge. Dried mango peel contains 30 +/- 2.5% (w/w) of reducing sugars. Fermentation of mango peel extract by Clostridium acetobutylicum 2878 yielded 10.5 +/- 0.4 g/L of butanol. The fermentation process was completed in seven days. Nutrients such as yeast extract, peptone, and beef extract were tested for supplementation of the mango peel medium. It was observed that nutrient supplementation improved both the rate and butanol production significantly, up to 13.3 +/- 1.0 g/L of butanol. Scaling up studies using a bioreactor, with optimized mango peel extract medium and fermentation conditions, further improved the butanol production (15.42 +/- 1.3 g/L). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the utilization of mango peel for butanol production.