The bioconversion of lignocellulosic materials to fermentable sugars and liquid fuels is now being given serious consideration. Over the past 10 to 15 years, research and development activities in laboratories around the world have provided an insight into the prospects, as well as the limitations, of developing such a technology. We have reported various physical and chemical pretreatments carried out on tapioca waste and water hyacinth aimed at maximizing the saccharification rate of these cellulosic wastes. The present study was focussed on whether the reducing sugar content of saccharified tapioca waste and water hyacinth hydrolysate can be used as a carbohydrate raw material for the production of alcohol. The influence of various physicochemical factors-temperature, pH, substrate concentration, and incubation period-on the growth and ethanol production of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells was also investigated.