Question

Which microbe is used to extract ethanol from fruit juices and sugar molasses?

Answer 1

Hint: A particular species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is involved in the process of fermentation which involves conversion of carbohydrates and sugars into smaller constituents.

Complete answer:
Yeast microbes convert daily sugar rich food items such as fruit juices and sugar molasses into Ethanol and Carbon Dioxide.
1. This typical Fermentation process occurs in the absence of Oxygen which is also known as an Anaerobic Process.
2. The sugar molecules, by the means of Yeast microbe, are broken down into Ethanol.
3. The sugar in such fruit juices is typically in the form of Glucose. The process is also termed as Anaerobic Fermentation.
4. The chemical reaction of Fermentation is depicted below:

\[{{C}_{6}}{{H}_{12}}{{O}_{6}}~\xrightarrow{yeast}2{{C}_{2}}{{H}_{5}}OH+2C{{O}_{2}}\]
This type of Fermentation is termed as Ethanol Fermentation.

So, the answer for the above problem is Yeast microbe.

Note: Fermentation process is used in various industries to produce alcohol.
There are three types of fermentation, the other two types are mentioned below:
1. Lactic Acid fermentation: This process requires no heat in the overall preparation. Microbes such as yeast and bacteria convert starch rich or sugar rich substances such as sugar molasses or fruit juices into lactic acid.
2. Acetic Acid Fermentation: In this type of fermentation, starch and sugar from food grains convert into different substrates such as vinegar.
Did you know that the Fermentation process has been conducted by humans since the last 12,000 years?