This work examined the suitability of dilute acid pre-treatment for treating waste peels of
Manihot esculenta crantz (tropical specie of cassava) for bioethanol production. Waste cassava
peels constitute an abundant agricultural waste mostly prevalent in Nigeria. Cassava peels were
collected, washed, the brownish parts removed and the white parenchymatous layer dried and
ground into powdery form. Dilute acid pre-treatment was carried out using an autoclave. 100ml
of 0.5% sulphuric acid was added to 30g of the sample to remove the lignin, to reduce cellulose
crystallinity and increase porosity of the material. The mixture was heated to 120 ? under a
pressure of 25 psi for 1 hour. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform
Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy were carried out on the untreated and pre-treated samples.
Significant disruption of the outer layer of the cassava peels and removal of lignin due to dilute
acid pre-treatment were observed as evidenced in the SEM and FTIR analysis. It was inferred
that dilute acid pre-treatment of waste cassava peels using 0.5% sulphuric acid is a suitable
method for pre-treating waste cassava peels for bioethanol production.