Two-stage electrodialytic concentration of glyceric acid from fermentation broth

The aim of this research was the application of a two-stage electrodialysis (ED) method for glyceric acid (GA) recovery from fermentation broth. First, by desalting ED, glycerate solutions (counterpart is Na+) were concentrated using ion-exchange membranes, and the glycerate recovery and energy consumption became more efficient with increasing the initial glycerate concentration (30 to 130 g/l). Second, by water-splitting ED, the concentrated glycerate was electroconverted to GA using bipolar membranes. Using a culture broth of Acetobacter tropicalis containing 68.6 g/l of D-glycerate, a final D-GA concentration of 116 g/l was obtained following the two-stage ED process. The total energy consumption for the D-glycerate concentration and its electroconversion to D-GA was approximately 0.92 kWh per 1 kg of D-GA.