Obtención de bioetanol a partir de la cáscara de cacao (Theobroma cacao) usando Trichoderma reesei y Trichoderma ghanense para la hidrólisis enzimática

The use of fossil fuels generates Greenhouse Gases (GHG), one of the main causes of global overheating, which has become a problem in recent decades. The use of second generation of biofuels has been perceived as an alternative to replace or reduce the use of fossil fuels; for this reason, the present work aims to obtain bioethanol from cocoa shell (Theobroma cacao) of the clone CCN-51 obtained in Los Rios Province, Ecuador, through a series of steps involving: a) alkaline pretreatment, b) enzymatic hydrolysis using two species of endophytic fungi from the same cocoa shell (Trichoderma reesei and Trichoderma ghanense) at different concentration and c) alcoholic fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. The amount of bioethanol obtained from the process was determined by gas chromatograph with a flame ionization detector (FID). The results show a moderate production of bioethanol ranging from 0.024 % v/v to 0.254 % v/v, which indicates that the cocoa shell (Theobroma cacao) of clone CCN 51 is a potential matrix to bioethanol production.