It’s Getting Hot in Here: Effect of Sugar Type on Ethanol Production of Saccharomyces cerevisiae at a High Temperature

Baker’s yeast or brewer’s yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ), is vital to the baking and brewing industries and therefore is economically significant. The production of ethanol in yeast varies in the presence of different sugars. In this experiment, three different sugars were used (corn sugar, lactose, and sucrose) to find the optimum sugar to maximize the production of ethanol at high temperatures. We hypothesized that corn sugar would yield the highest ethanol production in yeast. The three solutions of yeast and sugar were kept at a high temperature for thirty minutes and the production of ethanol was measured. Corn sugar resulted in the highest average production of ethanol, followed by sucrose and lactose. This research shows that corn sugar is optimal for ethanol production at a high temperature; therefore, it can be used to increase industrial efficiency.