Continuous alcohol production from whey permeate using immobilised cell reactor systems

The present paper reports the performance of a bioreactor packed with alginate-entrapped Kluyveromyces marxianus NCYC179 for continuous fermentation of whey permeate to ethanol. A maximum ethanol productivity as 28.21 gl^?1 h^?1 was attained at D=0.42h^?1 and 75% lactose consumption (substrate feed rate in the inflowing medium was 200 g lactose I^?1). However, the higher dilution rates (0.6-1.Oh^?1) resulted in poor productivities and higher substrate washout in the effluent samples. The maximum specific ethanol production (qpi) and maximum specific lactose uptake (qsi) of the immobilised Kluyveromyces marxianus NCYC179 was found to be 3.88g ethanol/g immobilised cell/hx10^?2 and 8.75g lactose consumed/g immobilised cell/hx10^?2 respectively. A bead size of 2.5 mm in diameter and activation period of 24h of alginate beads in lactose solution (10%) prior to their packing in column reactor were found to support the efficient working of the bioreactor. The immobilised cell bioreactor system was operated continuously at a constant dilution rate of 0.15h^?1 and 10% lactose for 562 h without any significant change in the efficiency (varied from 84 to 88% of theoretical) and viability of the entrapped yeast cells (dropped from 84 to 81%).     

Performance of different immobilized‐cell systems to efficiently produce ethanol from whey: fluidized batch,packed‐bed and fluidized continuous bioreactors

BACKGROUND: The bioconversion of whey into ethanol by immobilized Kluyveromyces marxianus in packed‐bed and fluidized bioreactors is described. Both batch and continuous cultures were analyzed using three different strains of K. marxianus and the effect of the operating mode, temperature, and dilution rates (D) were investigated. RESULTS: All immobilized strains of K. marxianus (CBS 6556, CCT 4086, and CCT 2653) produced similar high yields of ethanol (0.44 ± 0.01 g EtOH g^?1 sugar). Significant variations of conversion efficiencies (66.1 to 83.3%) and ethanol productivities (0.78 to 0.96 g L^?1 h^?1) were observed in the experiments with strain K. marxianus CBS 6556 at different temperatures. High yields of ethanol were obtained in fluidized and packed‐bed bioreactors continuous cultures at different D (0.1 to 0.3 h^?1), with the highest productivity (3.5 g L^?1 h^?1) observed for D = 0.3 h^?1 in the fluidized bioreactor (87% of the maximal theoretical conversion), whereas the highest ethanol concentration in the streaming effluent (28 g L^?1) was obtained for D = 0.1 h^?1. Electronic micrographs of the gel beads showed efficient cell immobilization. CONCLUSION: Batch and continuous cultivations of immobilized K. marxianus in fluidized and packed‐bed bioreactors enable high yields and productivities of ethanol from whey. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Fuel ethanol production from concentrated food waste hydrolysates in immobilized cell reactors by Saccharomyces cerevisiae H058

BACKGROUND: Continuous ethanol fermentation of concentrated food waste hydrolysates has been studied. The process was carried out in an immobilized cell reactor with beads of calcium‐alginate containing immobilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae H058 at temperature 30 °C and pH 5.0. RESULTS: The total residual sugar decreased with increase of hydraulic retention time (HRT) under various reducing sugar concentrations. Ethanol production by immobilized cells increased with increase in HRT, regardless of the substrate concentrations employed. The highest ethanol concentration of 89.28 g L^?1 was achieved at an HRT of 5.87 h and reducing sugar concentration of 200 g L^?1. At an HRT of 1.47 h, the maximum volumetric ethanol productivity of 49.88 g L^?1 h^?1 and the highest ethanol yield of 0.48 g g^?1 were achieved at reducing sugar concentration of 160 and 200 g L^?1, respectively. The difference between the fresh and the 30‐day Ca–alginate immobilized cell was also shown by scanning electronic micrographs of beads taken from their outer and inner surfaces. CONCLUSIONS: Continuous ethanol production from concentrated food waste hydrolysates using immobilized yeast cells is promising in view of the high ethanol productivity obtained at relatively high conversion and excellent reactor stability. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Ethanol and chitosan production from wheat hydrolysate by Mucor hiemalis

BACKGROUND: High glucose and ethanol tolerance is among the most important requirements of ethanol‐producing microorganisms. The purpose of this study was evaluation of filamentous fungus Mucor hiemalis for ethanol production from wheat and starch hydrolysates with high glucose concentration. RESULTS: The results showed high tolerance of the fungus in fermentation of the hydrolyzates with high glucose concentrations (as high as 190 g L^?1). Interestingly, increasing the glucose concentration from 15 to 190 g L^?1 was accompanied by enhancement of initial sugar uptake rate. Ethanol was the most important metabolite obtained during all fermentations and its concentration reached over 50 g L^?1. Beside ethanol, chitosan was another valuable product of the process. Glucosamine, a precursor of chitosan, made up 37.3–46.7% of the cell wall of this fungus. CONCLUSIONS: M. hiemalis is a promising microorganism for simultaneous production of ethanol and chitosan from substrates with high sugar concentrations. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Kinetic study on ethanol production using Saccharomyces cerevisiae ITV‐01 yeast isolated from sugar cane molasses

BACKGROUND: Bio‐ethanol production from renewable sources, such as sugar cane, makes it a biofuel that is both renewable and environmentally friendly. One of the strategies to reduce production costs and to make ethanol fuel economically competitive with fossil fuels could be the use of wild yeast with osmotolerance, ethanol resistance and low nutritional requirements. The aim of this work was to investigate the kinetics of ethanol fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae ITV‐01 yeast strain in a batch system at different glucose and ethanol concentrations, pH values and temperature in order to determine the optimum fermentation conditions. RESULTS: This strain showed osmotolerance (its specific growth rate (µ_max) remained unchanged at glucose concentrations between 100 and 200 g L^?1) as well as ethanol resistance (it was able to grow at 10% v/v ethanol). Activation energy (Ea) and Q₁₀ values calculated at temperatures between 27 and 39 °C, pH 3.5, was 15.6 kcal mol^?1 (with a pre‐exponential factor of 3.8 × 10¹² h^?1 (R² = 0.94)) and 3.93 respectively, indicating that this system is biologically limited. CONCLUSIONS: The optimal conditions for ethanol production were pH 3.5, 30 °C and initial glucose concentration 150 g L^?1. In this case, a maximum ethanol concentration of 58.4 g L^?1, ethanol productivity of 1.8 g L^?1 h^?1 and ethanol yield of 0.41 g g^?1 were obtained. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Novel two‐in‐one bioreactor greatly improves lactic acid production from xylose by Lactobacillus pentosus

BACKGROUND: Simultaneous xylose isomerization and fermentation was investigated to improve the lactic acid production from xylose by Lactobacillus pentosus in a novel two‐in‐one bioreactor constructed by packing the immobilized xylose isomerase (65 g) in a fixed bed reactor (diameter 56 mm × 66 mm, packing volume 154 mL) with a permeable wall, which was installed inside a conventional fermenter (2 L) and rotated along the axis together with the mechanical stirrer of the fermenter. RESULTS: Xylose (20 g L^?1) was completely consumed within 24 h in the novel bioreactor, compared with 72 h needed for the control without packed enzyme. The maximum cell density (17.5 g L^?1) in the novel bioreactor was twice that in the control and the lactic acid productivity (0.58 g L^?1 h^?1) was 3.8 times higher. Repeated use of the immobilized enzyme showed that the lactic acid productivity and yield obviously dropped after the first batch fermentation but maintained almost unchanged afterwards. CONCLUSION: Simultaneous xylose isomerization and fermentation significantly improved lactic acid production from xylose by Lactobacillus pentosus. The novel bioreactor made it easier to recycle and reuse the immobilized enzyme. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Continuous ethanol fermentation in a closed‐circulating system using an immobilized cell coupled with PDMS membrane pervaporation

BACKGROUND: A closed‐circulating system for ethanol fermentation was constructed by coupling a cell‐immobilized bed fermentor with pervaporation using a composite PDMS membrane. A continuous fermentation experiment was carried out for about 250 h in the system at 28 °C. RESULTS: The cell density in the immobilized bed was up to 1.76 × 10¹⁰ cells g^?1 gel. The ethanol concentration in the broth was maintained at about 43 g L^?1. The glucose utilization and ethanol productivity were 23.26 g L^?1 h^?1 and 9.6 g L^?1 h^?1, respectively. The total flux and the ethanol flux through the membrane pervaporation unit varied in the range 300–690 g m^?2 h^?1 and 61–190 g m^?2 h^?1, respectively. The average ethanol concentration in the permeate was 23.1% (wt%). The carbon recovery efficiency was 86.8% (wt%), determined by calculating the carbon balance kinetics. The effect of ethanol concentration in the broth on the ethanol productivity was analyzed by modeling product formation kinetics of the system. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the traditional free cell fermentation system and packed bed fermentation system, the closed‐circulating system has the promising features of higher glucose utilization and ethanol productivity, and cleaner production. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Oxidation of ethanol vapors in a spiral bioreactor

A fixed film spiral bioreactor containing immobilized activated sludge microorganisms has been used to degrade ethanol vapors. The effect of air flow rate, and ethanol feed concentration on elimination capacity has been investigated. Air flow rate is varied in the range from 2?34 to 40?0 dm³ min^?1. Ethanol feed concentration is varied in the range from 600 to 7000 ppmv. In the concentration range studied, the elimination capacity increased proportionately with an increase in feed concentration. However, the elimination capacity decreased significantly at flow rates greater than 20 dm³ min^?1 owing to insulfficient residence time. The maximum elimination capacity observed was 185 g ethanol h^?1 m^?3 of reactor volume. Critical ethanol loading, defined as the maximum loading to achieve greater than 99% elimination at various residence times have been determined. These data are extremely useful in designing bioreactor for large scale applications.     

Production of L‐lactic acid with very high gravity distillery wastewater from ethanol fermentation by a newly isolated Enterococcus hawaiiensis

BACKGROUND: A great amount of wastewater with high contents of chemical oxygen demand (COD) are produced by ethanol production. It would be useful to utilize distillery wastewater to produce L‐lactic acid, which could be a high additional value byproduct of ethanol production. The fermentation process of L‐lactic acid production by a newly isolated Enterococcus hawaiiensis CICIM‐CU B0114 is reported for the first time. RESULTS: The strain produced 56 g L^?1 of L‐lactic acid after cultivation for 48 h in optimized medium consisting of (g L^?1) 80 glucose, 10 peptone, 10 yeast extract, 1.5 Na₂HPO₄ and 0.2 MgSO₄. E. hawaiiensis CICIM‐CU B0114 was isolated and purified by subculture for growing and producing L‐lactic acid in distillery wastewater of very high gravity (VHG) from ethanol fermentation. L‐lactic acid fermentation was further studied with distillery wastewater substrate in 7 L and 15 L fermentors. The results showed that L‐lactic acid concentrations of 52 g L^?1 and 68 g L^?1 was achieved in 7 L and 15 L fermentors with the initial sugar concentrations of 67 g L^?1 and 87 g L^?1, respectively. CONCLUSION: The production of L‐lactic acid by the newly isolated E. hawaiiensis CICIM‐CU B0114 was carried out and the fermentation medium was optimized by orthogonal experimental design. This new strain holds the promise of L‐lactic acid production utilizing distillery wastewater from VHG ethanol fermentation. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Production of bioethanol by immobilized Saccharomyces Cerevisiae onto modified sodium alginate gel

BACKGROUND: Microbial bioethanol production is an important option in view of the finite global oil reserves. Bioethanol fermentation was carried out using immobilized microorganisms (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Zymomonas mobilis, Pichia stipitis, etc.), which has many advantages compared with the use of free cells. Various support materials have been used for bioethanol fermentation, and alginate gels have been one of the most widely used matrices for cell entrapment. The aim of this study was increased bioethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae immobilized on alginate gels. First, N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone was grafted onto sodium alginate. Then, the properties of ethanol production were investigated using the matrix obtained. RESULTS: The performance of ethanol fermentation was affected by calcium chloride concentration, N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone grafted onto the sodium alginate, sugar concentration and the percentage of immobilized cell beads. These effects were optimized to give maximum ethanol production. Ethanol production was accelerated when sodium alginate polymer was modified with N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone. The maximum concentration, productivity and yield of ethanol were 69.68 g L^?1, 8.71 g L^?1 h^?1 and 0.697 g g^?1, respectively. CONCLUSION: The new polymeric matrix, when compared with sodium alginate, showed better ethanol production due to the hydrophilic property of N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone. The results suggest that the proposed method for immobilization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has potential in industrial applications of the ethanol production process. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Conversions of olive mill wastewater‐based media by Saccharomyces cerevisiae through sterile and non‐sterile bioprocesses

BACKGROUND: Olive mill wastewaters (OMWs) are an important residue and several methods have been proposed for their treatment. RESULTS: Remarkable decolorization (~63%) and phenol removal (~34% w/w) from OMW was achieved. In glucose‐based flask sterile cultures, enrichment with OMWs increased ethanol and biomass production compared with cultures without OMWs added. Flask sterile and un‐sterilized cultures demonstrated similar kinetic results. Batch‐bioreactor trials performed showed higher ethanol and lower biomass quantities compared with the respective shake‐flask experiments, while cultures used under un‐sterilized conditions revealed equivalent results to the sterile ones. In non‐sterile bioreactor cultures, OMWs addition enhanced biomass production in comparison with culture with no OMWs added, whereas ethanol biosynthesis was not affected. The maximum ethanol quantity achieved was 52 g L^?1 (conversion yield per sugar consumed of 0.46 g g^?1) in a batch bioreactor non‐sterilized trial with OMW–glucose enriched medium used as substrate, that presented initial reducing sugars concentration at ~115 g L^?1. Fatty acid analysis of cellular lipids demonstrated that in OMW‐based media, cellular lipids containing increased concentrations of oleic and linoleic acid were produced in comparison with cultures with no OMWs added. CONCLUSIONS: S. cerevisiae simultaneously produced bio‐ethanol and biomass and detoxified OMWs, under non‐sterile conditions. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Assessment of in situ butanol recovery by vacuum during acetone butanol ethanol (ABE) fermentation

BACKGROUND: Butanol fermentation is product limiting owing to butanol toxicity to microbial cells. Butanol (boiling point: 118 °C) boils at a higher temperature than water (boiling point: 100 °C) and application of vacuum technology to integrated acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation and recovery may have been ignored because of direct comparison of boiling points of water and butanol. This research investigated simultaneous ABE fermentation using Clostridium beijerinckii 8052 and in situ butanol recovery by vacuum. To facilitate ABE mass transfer and recovery at fermentation temperature, batch fermentation was conducted in triplicate at 35 °C in a 14 L bioreactor connected in series with a condensation system and vacuum pump. RESULTS: Concentration of ABE in the recovered stream was greater than that in the fermentation broth (from 15.7 g L^?1 up to 33 g L^?1). Integration of the vacuum with the bioreactor resulted in enhanced ABE productivity by 100% and complete utilization of glucose as opposed to a significant amount of residual glucose in the control batch fermentation. CONCLUSION: This research demonstrated that vacuum fermentation technology can be used for in situ butanol recovery during ABE fermentation and that C. beijerinckii 8052 can tolerate vacuum conditions, with no negative effect on cell growth and ABE production. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Utilization of lignocellulosic waste for ethanol production : Enzymatic digestibility and fermentation of pretreated shea tree sawdust

Enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation methods were evaluated on alkaline peroxide pretreated shea tree sawdust conversion to ethanol. Optimum pretreatment conditions of 120 °C reaction temperature, 30 min reaction time, and 20 mL L^?1 of water hydrogen peroxide concentration (1%(v/v)H₂O₂) solubilized 679 g kg^?1 of hemicellulose and 172 g kg^?1 of lignin. 617 g kg^?1 cellulose was retained in the solid fraction. The maximum yield of reducing sugar with optimized enzyme loadings by two enzyme preparations (cellulase and β-glucosidase) was 165 g kg^?1 of dry biomass. The ethanol yield was 7.35 g L^?1 after 72 h incubation period under the following conditions: 2% cellulose loading, enzyme concentration was 25 FPU (g cellulose)^?1 loading, yeast inoculums was 10% (v/v), 32 oC, and pH 4.8. The pretreatments gave information about the hindrances caused by lignin presence in lignocellulosic materials and that hemicelluloses are better hydrolyzed than lignin, thereby enhancing enzymatic digestibility of the sawdust material.     

Continuous ethanol production from carob pod extract by immobilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a packed-bed reactor

The continuous production of ethanol from carob pod extract by immobilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a packed-bed reactor has been investigated. At a substrate concentration of 150 g dm^?3, maximum ethanol productivity of 16 g dm^?3 h^?1 was obtained at D = 0·4 h^?1 with 62·3% of theoretical yield and 83·6% sugars′ utilization. At a dilution rate of 0·1 h^?1, optimal ethanol productivity was achieved in the pH range 3·5–5·5, temperature range 30–35·C and initial sugar concentration of 200 g dm^?3. Maximum ethanol productivity of 24·5 g dm^?3 h^?1 was obtained at D = 0·5 h^?1 with 58·8% of theoretical yield and 85% sugars′ utilization when non-sterilized carob pod extract containing 200 g dm^?3 total sugars was used as feed material. The bioreactor system was operated at a constant dilution rate of 0·5 h^?1 for 30 days without loss of the original immobilized yeast activity. In this case, the average ethanol productivity, ethanol yield (% of theoretical) and sugars′ utilization were 25 g dm^?3 h^?1, 58·8% and 85·5%, respectively.     

The effects of dilution rate and glucose concentration on continuous acetone–butanol–ethanol fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum immobilized on bricks

BACKGROUND: Owing to the rapid depletion of petroleum fuel, the production of butanol through biological routes has attracted increasing attention. However, low butanol productivity severely impedes its potential industrial production. It is known that the immobilization of whole cells can enhance productivity in the acetone‐butanol‐ethanol (ABE) continuous fermentation process. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a low‐cost continuous operation for butanol production. RESULTS: Bricks were chosen as cell support because of their low cost and ease of use for immobilization. The solvent productivity for the bricks with immobilized cells was 0.7 g L^?1 h^?1, 1.89 times that of free cells (0.37 g L^?1 h^?1) at a dilution rate of 0.054 h^?1. The productivity improvement can contribute to greater retention of biomass inside the reactor due to immobilization. The increase in glucose feed concentration raised total solvent production. However, it resulted in a decrease in yield (grams of solvents produced per gram of glucose introduced). Continuous operation with immobilized cells at a dilution rate of 0.107 h^?1 resulted in a solvent productivity of 1.21 g L^?1 h^?1, 2.1 times that of the operation at 0.027 h^?1. However, the yield (butanol produced per glucose consumed) was decreased to 0.19 from 0.29 under the same glucose feeding condition of 60 g L^?1. CONCLUSION: The increase in dilution rate and feed glucose concentration enhanced productivity, but decreased the utilization of substrates and the final solvent concentration. Therefore, a balance between productivity and glucose utilization is required to ensure continuous process operation. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Interaction of transport resistances with biochemical reaction in packed bed solid state fermenters: The effect of gaseous concentration gradients

Mass transfer plays an important role in solid state fermentation (SSF) systems. Earlier work on SSF in tray bioreactors⁷ indicated that steep gaseous concentration gradients developed within the substrate bed, owing to mass transfer resistances, which may adversely affect the bioreactor performance. For all practical purposes these gradients have been eliminated using a packed bed column bioreactor with forced aeration. Gaseous concentrations (oxygen and carbon dioxide) and enzyme activities were measured at various bed heights for various air flow rates during the course of fermentation. The results indicated that concentration gradients were decreased effectively by increasing air flow rate. For example, the actual oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration gradients reduced from 0.07% (v/v) cm^?1 and 0.023% (v/v) cm^?1 to 0.007% (v/v) cm^?1 and 0.0032% (v/v) cm^?1 respectively when the air flow rate was increased from 5 dm³ min^?1 to 25 dm³ min^?1. This resulted in an overall improvement in the performance of the bioreactor in terms of enzyme production.     

High efficiency bioethanol production from OPEFB using pilot pretreatment reactor

BACKGROUND: Current ethanol production processes using crops such as corn and sugar cane are well established. However, the utilization of cheaper biomasses such as lignocellulose could make bioethanol more competitive with fossil fuels while avoiding the ethical concerns associated with using potential food resources. RESULTS: Oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB), a lignocellulosic biomass, was pretreated using NaOH to produce bioethanol. The pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis conditions were evaluated by response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal conditions were found to be 127.64 °C, 22.08 min, and 2.89 mol L^?1 for temperature, reaction time, and NaOH concentration, respectively. Regarding enzymatic digestibility, 50 FPU g^?1 cellulose of cellulase was selected as the test concentration, resulting in a total glucose conversion rate (TGCR) of 86.37% using the Changhae Ethanol Multi Explosion (CHEMEX) facility. Fermentation of pretreated OPEFB using Saccharomyces cerevisiae resulted in an ethanol concentration of 48.54 g L^?1 at 20% (w/v) pretreated biomass loading, along with simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) processes. Overall, 410.48 g of ethanol were produced from 3 kg of raw OPEFB in a single run, using the CHEMEX_50 L reactor. CONCLUSION: The results presented here constitute a significant contribution to the production of bioethanol from OPEFB. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Batch treatment of saline wastewater by Halanaerobium lacusrosei in an anaerobic packed bed reactor

BACKGROUND: This study considers batch treatment of saline wastewater in an upflow anaerobic packed bed reactor by salt tolerant anaerobic organisms Halanaerobium lacusrosei . RESULTS: The effects of initial chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration (COD₀ = 1880–9570 mg L^?1), salt concentration ([NaCl] = 30–100 g L^?1) and liquid upflow velocity (V_up = 1.0–8.5 m h^?1) on COD removal from salt (NaCl)‐containing synthetic wastewater were investigated. The results indicated that initial COD concentration significantly affects the effluent COD concentration and removal efficiency. COD removal was around 87% at about COD₀ = 1880 mg L^?1, and efficiency decreased to 43% on increasing COD₀ to 9570 mg L^?1 at 20 g L^?1 salt concentration. COD removal was in the range 50–60% for [NaCl] = 30–60 g L^?1 at COD₀ = 5200 ± .100 mg L^?1. However, removal efficiency dropped to 10% when salt concentration was increased to 100 g L^?1. Increasing liquid upflow velocity from V_up = 1.0 m h^?1 to 8.5 m h^?1 provided a substantial improvement in COD removal. COD concentration decreased from 4343 mg L^?1 to 321 mg L^?1 at V_up = 8.5 m h^?1, resulting in over 92% COD removal at 30 g L^?1 salt‐containing synthetic wastewater. CONCLUSION: The experimental results showed that anaerobic treatment of saline wastewater is possible and could result in efficient COD removal by the utilization of halophilic anaerobic bacteria. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Kinetic modelling of lactic acid production from whey by Lactobacillus casei (NRRL B‐441)

The biomass growth, lactic acid production and lactose utilisation kinetics of lactic acid production from whey by Lactobacillus casei was studied. Batch fermentation experiments were performed at controlled pH and temperature with six different initial whey lactose concentrations (9‐77 g dm^?3) in a 3 dm³ working volume bioreactor. Biomass growth was well described by the logistic equation with a product inhibition term. In addition, biomass and product inhibition effects were defined with corresponding power terms, which enabled adjustment of the model for low‐ and high‐substrate conditions. The Luedeking‐Piret equation defined the product formation kinetics. Substrate consumption was explained by production rate and maintenance requirements. A maximum productivity of 2.5 g dm^?3 h^?1 was attained with an initial lactose concentration of 35.5 g dm^?3. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Conversion efficiency of glucose/xylose mixtures for ethanol production using Saccharomyces cerevisiae ITV01 and Pichia stipitis NRRL Y‐7124

BACKGROUND: Efficient conversion of glucose/xylose mixtures from lignocellulose is necessary for commercially viable ethanol production. Oxygen and carbon sources are of paramount importance for ethanol yield. The aim of this work was to evaluate different glucose/xylose mixtures for ethanol production using S. cerevisiae ITV‐01 (wild type yeast) and P. stipitis NRRL Y‐7124 and the effect of supplying oxygen in separate and co‐culture processes. RESULTS: The complete conversion of a glucose/xylose mixture (75/30 g L^?1) was obtained using P. stipitis NRRL Y‐7124 under aerobic conditions (0.6 vvm), the highest yield production being Y_p/s = 0.46 g g^?1, volumetric ethanol productivity Q_pmax = 0.24 g L^?1 h^?1 and maximum ethanol concentration P_max = 34.5 g L^?1. In the co‐culture process and under aerobic conditions, incomplete conversion of glucose/xylose mixture was observed (20.4% residual xylose), with a maximum ethanol production of 30.3 g L^?1, ethanol yield of 0.4 g g^?1 and Q_pmax = 1.26 g L^?1 h^?1. CONCLUSIONS: The oxygen present in the glucose/xylose mixture promotes complete sugar consumption by P. stipitis NRRL Y‐7124 resulting in ethanol production. However, in co‐culture with S. cerevisiae ITV‐01 under aerobic conditions, incomplete fermentation occurs that could be caused by oxygen limitation and ethanol inhibition by P. stipitis NRRL Y‐7124; nevertheless the volumetric ethanol productivity increases fivefold compared with separate culture. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry