Biorefinery development through utilization of biodiesel industry by-products as sole fermentation feedstock for 1,3-propanediol production

Chatzifragkou, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9255-7871, Papanikolaou, S., Kopsahelis, N., Kachrimanidou, V., Dorado, M. P. and Koutinas, A. A. (2014) Biorefinery development through utilization of biodiesel industry by-products as sole fermentation feedstock for 1,3-propanediol production. Bioresource Technology, 159. pp. 167-175. ISSN 0960-8524 doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.02.021

Abstract/Summary

Rapeseed meal (RSM) hydrolysate was evaluated as substitute for commercial nutrient supplements in 1,3-propanediol (PDO) fermentation using the strain Clostridium butyricum VPI 1718. RSM was enzymatically converted into a generic fermentation feedstock, enriched in amino acids, peptides and various micro-nutrients, using crude enzyme consortia produced via solid state fermentation by a fungal strain of Aspergillus oryzae. Initial free amino nitrogen concentration influenced PDO production in batch cultures. RSM hydrolysates were compared with commercial nutrient supplements regarding PDO production in fed-batch cultures carried out in a bench-scale bioreactor. The utilization of RSM hydrolysates in repeated batch cultivation resulted in a PDO concentration of 65.5 g/L with an overall productivity of 1.15 g/L/h that was almost 2 times higher than the productivity achieved when yeast extract was used as nutrient supplement.