Precise fermentation coupling with simultaneous separation strategy enables highly efficient and economical...

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Biochemical Engineering
• Industrial Microbiology

Background:

• Sophorolipids (SLs) are valuable biosurfactants with broad applications.
• High production costs currently limit the widespread use of SLs.
• Optimizing fermentation and separation is crucial for cost-effective SL production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an intelligent and precise regulation strategy for cost-effective sophorolipid production.
• To integrate fermentation with in-situ separation for enhanced production efficiency.
• To reduce energy consumption and improve downstream processing.

Main Methods:

• Constructed a mechanism-assisted, data-driven model for on-demand cell feeding.
• Implemented step-wise oxygen supply regulation based on cellular metabolic demand.
• Integrated semi-continuous fermentation with in-situ separation technology.

Main Results:

• Achieved sophorolipid productivity of 2.30 g/L/h and yield of 0.57 g/g, representing significant increases over fed-batch methods.
• Demonstrated a 40.2% increase in productivity and an 18.7% increase in yield.
• Reached a crude SL concentration of 793.12 g/L post-separation, simplifying downstream purification.

Conclusions:

• The developed strategy enables cost-effective production of sophorolipids.
• Intelligent regulation of fermentation and in-situ separation significantly enhances SL productivity and yield.
• The high concentration of crude SLs facilitates efficient downstream processing, paving the way for industrial-scale application.