Question

How is alcoholic fermentation useful?

Answer 1

Fermentation is carried out by multiple bacteria and yeasts. These species are used by people to produce milk, pasta, wine, and biofuels. Fermentation is also used by human muscle cells. There are two forms of fermentation: fermentation of lactic acid and alcoholic fermentation.

Complete answer:
The fermentation of alcohol, also known as ethanol fermentation, is the anaerobic process used by yeasts to transform basic sugars to ethanol and carbon dioxide. Yeasts usually operate under aerobic conditions or in the presence of oxygen, but they may also work under anaerobic conditions or in the absence of oxygen. Alcohol fermentation occurs in the cytosol of yeast cells where no oxygen is readily available. Let's analyze the alcohol fermentation process, and then see what it entails for yeasts and humans.

The key aim of fermentation with alcohol is to produce, under anaerobic conditions, ATP, the energy currency for cells. Thus, from the viewpoint of yeast, waste materials are carbon dioxide and ethanol. That's the simple description of fermentation of alcohol. Now, let's analyze in greater depth each aspect of this process.

The glucose to pyruvate conversion produces a net sum of 2 ATPs. While this is not as much ATP as aerobic respiration can produce, once oxygen is available, it is enough to keep the yeast alive. Since it is literally glycolysis or the first step of aerobic respiration, this first part may look familiar.

The pyruvate molecules would join a mitochondrion if oxygen were present and endure the remainder of aerobic respiration. In alcohol fermentation, however, the pyruvate instead remains in the cytosol, the cell's gooey internal space. This is where the conversion of pyruvate to ethanol, the second phase of our reaction, will take place.

Note: It is then transformed into an intermediary molecule called acetaldehyde before pyruvate can be converted to ethanol. Carbon dioxide is emitted from this. Next, in ethanol, acetaldehyde is converted. Main enzymes, including zymases, aid in the conversion of pyruvate to carbon dioxide and ethanol.