Utilization of corn silage juice by Klyuveromyces marxianus

Corn silage juice was found to be a favorable substrate for production of fodder yeasts. Kluyveromyces marxianus NRRL Y-610 yielded significantly more cell dry weight than other cultures examined. In shake-flask experiments, the yeast produced over 13 g of cell dry weight per liter of corn silage juice and completely consumed the organic pollutants (lactic acid, acetic acid, and ethanol). The yeast settled rapidly and had a yeast volume index of 21 ml/g. The results indicate that K. marxianus NRRL Y-610 could be used to efficiently remove lactic acid and other organic compounds from corn silage juice with the concomitant production of fodder yeast.