Fumaric Acid Production from Alkali-Pretreated Corncob by Fed-Batch Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation...

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Industrial Microbiology
• Biochemical Engineering

Background:

• Fumaric acid is a valuable organic acid with diverse industrial applications.
• Lignocellulosic biomass, such as corncob, presents a sustainable feedstock for chemical production.
• High solids loading fermentation offers economic advantages but poses technical challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To optimize fumaric acid production from alkali-pretreated corncob (APC) at high solids loading.
• To evaluate different fermentation strategies for maximizing fumaric acid yield.
• To compare the efficacy of combined SHF and fed-batch SSF with batch SSF.

Main Methods:

• Alkali pretreatment of corncob to produce APC.
• Fermentation using Rhizopus oryzae under various modes: batch SSF, combined SHF and fed-batch SSF.
• Optimization of fermentation parameters including solids loading (20% w/v) and temperature (38 °C).

Main Results:

• The combined SHF and fed-batch SSF process achieved a fumaric acid concentration of 41.32 g/L.
• This represents a significant improvement over batch SSF alone, which yielded 19.13 g/L.
• The study demonstrated the feasibility of high fumaric acid titers from lignocellulose.

Conclusions:

• A combined SHF and fed-batch SSF strategy is highly effective for fumaric acid production from APC at high solids loading.
• This integrated approach overcomes limitations of traditional SSF, enhancing microbial production of fumaric acid.
• The findings support the use of lignocellulosic biomass for sustainable fumaric acid manufacturing.