Page 37 - The Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand

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ศาสตราจารย์์ ดร.สาวิิตรี ลิ่ิ�มทอง 27

Abstract: Ethanol Fermentation by Yeasts

Professor Dr. Savitree Limthong
Fellow of the Academy of Science,

The Royal Society of Thailand

Ethanol is an important component in alcoholic beverages.
Ethanol is also used as a chemical compound for disinfection and as an

ingredient in cosmetics, perfumes, and medicines. In addition, it is used as
a biofuel. The global industries of alcoholic beverage production and

ethanol production are employing microorganisms, especially yeast as
producers. The alcoholic beverage production and global ethanol industries

obtain it from fermentation of sugar by microorganisms especially yeast.
Yeast converts sugar via the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway to pyruvate.

Then ethanol is produced by ethnaol fermentation pathway. Various
yeast species are capable of ethanol fermentation. However, the most

commonly employed in the production of alcoholic beverages and ethanol
in the industry is Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This is because this yeast

species has many advantageous characteristics including the ability to pro-
duce high ethanol concentrations, ethanol resistance, and a high growth

rate. In addition, fermentation ethanol is affected by many factors, including
the substrate concentration, environmental conditions, and ethanol

produced. Therefore, it is necessary to control these factors appropriately
in order to produce ethanol with high concentration and high yield.

Keywords: fermentation, yeast, ethanol, ethyl alcohol