Bioethanol production capacity from Canary Island banana residue and impact on its carbon footprint

Abstract

Energy sovereignty and carbon footprint mitigation are challenges faced by island electricity systems (IES), along with the promotion of renewable generation systems. One of the aspects that can improve this is the development of specific actions in the recovery of agricultural waste as biofuels. Among them, the banana residue stands out, as it is the majority in agricultural production in the Canary Islands. On the other hand, biofuels are alternatives to fossil fuels that contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This article studies the potential of waste, the transformation of the existing sugars in the fruit waste of the Canarian banana to transform it into a 100% renewable fuel, bioethanol and, therefore, the environmental impact that it has on banana production, its new carbon footprint.