Investigating Alcoholic Characteristics of Bush Cane (Costus Afer) Leaf Extract

Ethanol was extracted from the juice of leaf, stem and root of Costus afer (monkey sugarcane) to determine their respective and comparative yield and also to determine its fuel composite qualities. Samples were selected from farmland in Bori, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State. They were cut into bits, measuring 1 cm length and were pounded to pulp and transferred into 30 L bow, where it was allowed to ferment. Fermentation was completed in four days and the filtrations of the various samples subjected to distillation to yield ethanol. Redistillation of ethanol was carried out using a reflux condenser to yield a very pure ethanol. Ethanol yield of the three samples was found to be 10 L of leaf, stem and root of costus afer respectively. Percentage purity of the ethanol was found to be 95 %, specific gravity (S.G) was 0.7620 Kg/L and the boiling point range was 78oC-88oC. Finally, juice from the leaf, stem and root of Costus afer can be used for ethanol production