Syrup resulting from date by-products constitutes a favorable medium for yeast development, owing to its sugar composition; it was hence tested for ethanol production. Three yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii and Candida pelliculosa, were selected for ethanol production on dates syrup. In batch fermentation, the ethanol concentration depended on the initial sugar concentration and the yeast strain. For an initial sugar concentration of 174.0 +/- 0.2 kg m(-3), maximum ethanol concentration was 63.0 +/- 0.1 kg m(-3) during S. cerevisiae growth, namely higher than the amounts achieved during Z. rouxii and C. pelliculosa growth, 33.0 +/- 2.0 kg m(-3) and 41.0 +/- 0.3 kg m(-3) respectively. Contrarily, only Z. rouxii was able to grow on 358.0 +/- 1.0 kg m(-3) initial sugar amount, resulting in 55.0 +/- 1.0 kg m(-3) ethanol produced. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.