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     

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     

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     

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     

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     

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     

Continuous ethanol fermentation using immobilized yeast in a fluidized bed reactor

Continuous ethanol fermentation of glucose using fluidized bed technology was studied. Saccharomyces cerevisiae were immobilized and retained on porous microcarriers. Over two-thirds of the total reactor yeast cell mass was immobilized. Ethanol productivity was examined as dilution rate was varied, keeping all other experimental parameters constant. Ethanol yield remained high at an average of 0.36 g ethanol g^?1 glucose (71% of theoretical yield) as the dilution rate was increased stepwise from 0.04 h^?1 to 0.14 h^?1. At a dilution rate of 0.15 h^?1, the ethanol yield steeply declined to 0.22 g ethanol g^?1 glucose (44% of theoretical yield). The low maximum percentage of theoretical yield is primarily due to an extended mean cell residence time, and possibly due to the inhibitory effect of a high dissolved carbon dioxide concentration, enhanced by the probable intermittent levels of low pH in the reactor. Constant ethanol production was possible at a high glucose loading rate of 840 g dm^?3 day^?1 (attained at a dilution rate of 0.14 h^?1). Although the highest average ethanol concentration (97.14 g dm^?3) occurred at the initial dilution rate of 0.04 h^?1, the peak average ethanol production rate (2.87 g (g yeast)^?1 day^?1) was reached at a greater dilution rate of 0.11 ^h-1. Thus, the optimal dilution rate was determined to be between 0.11 h^?1 and 0.14 h^?1. Ethanol inhibition on yeast cells was absent in the reactor at average bulk-liquid ethanol concentrations as high as 97.14 g dm^?3. In addition, zero-order kinetics on ethanol production and glucose utilization was evident.     

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.     

Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of sludge‐containing cassava mash for batch and repeated batch production of bioethanol by Saccharomyces cerevisiae CHFY0321

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine the repeated batch production of bioethanol from sludge‐containing cassava mash as starchy substrate by flocculating yeast to improve volumetric bioethanol productivity and to simplify the process of a pre‐culture system. RESULTS: For the repeated batch production of bioethanol using cassava mash, the optimal recycling volume ratio was found to be 5%. The repeated batch fermentation was completed within 36 h, while the batch fermentation was completed after 42 h. Volumetric productivity, final ethanol concentration, and ethanol yield were attained to 2.15 g L^?1 h^?1, 83.64 g L^?1, and 85.15%, respectively. Although cell accumulation in the repeated batch process is difficult due to the cassava mash, the repeated batch process using Saccharomyces cerevisiae CHFY0321 could exhibited 10‐fold higher initial viable cell number (1.7 × 10⁷ CFU mL^?1) than that of the batch process. CONCLUSION: The liquefied cassava powder was directly used for the repeated batch process without removal of sludge. Repeated batch bioethanol production by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation using self‐flocculating yeast could reduce process costs and accelerate commercial applications. This result was probably due in part to the effect of the initial viable cell density. Copyright © 2008 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     

Modulated gluconic acid production from immobilized cells of Aspergillus niger ORS‐4.410 utilizing grape must

BACKGROUND: Gluconic acid (GA) production by immobilized cells of mutant Aspergillus niger ORS‐4.410 on polyurethane sponge (PUS) and calcium‐alginate (Ca‐alginate) was evaluated in repeated batches of solid state surface fermentation (SSF) and submerged fermentation (SmF) conditions, respectively, utilizing rectified grape must as carbon source. RESULTS: The passive immobilization of cells in fermentation medium solid support of having 0.4 cm³ cube size, 4% spore suspension, 0.6 g inoculum of PUS immobilized cells at 32 °C and 2.0 L min^?1 resulted in the maximum GA production (88.16 g L^?1) with a 92.8% yield, while the Ca‐alginate matrix with a 0.5 cm diameter bead size, 2–3% spore suspension, 15 g inoculum at 34 °C and 150 rpm agitation speed revealed 67.19 g L^?1 GA with a 85.2% yield. Repeated use of PUS showed higher levels of GA (110.94 g L^?1) in the third–fourth fermentation cycles with 95–98% yield and 22.50 g L^?1 d^?1 productivity under SSF that was 2.5‐fold higher than the productivity obtained from a typical fermentation cycle, and 54% greater than the productivity obtained with repetitive use of Ca‐alginate immobilized cells of A. niger under SmF. CONCLUSION: Using immobilized cells of A. niger in PUS, the rectified form of grape must can be utilized for GA production as an alternative source of carbohydrate by replacing the conventional fermentation conditions. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Xylitol production by liquid emulsion membrane encapsulated yeast cells

BACKGROUND: Liquid emulsion membrane (LEM)‐encapsulated live cells can be used to produce various products. This work reports on LEM‐encapsulated cells for producing xylitol and models the production process. RESULTS: Encapsulated cells of Candida mogii ATCC 18364 were used to produce xylitol from xylose. Soybean oil LEM consisting of 5% (w/v) lanolin and microwaxes was found most suitable for this process. The LEM‐encapsulated cells were immobilized in a tubular biocatalytic loop. Xylitol was produced under oxygen‐limited and aerobic conditions. Xylitol productivity and yield were 0.005 g L^?1 h^?1 and 0.52 g g^?1, respectively, for oxygen‐limited operation. Under aerobic conditions, xylitol productivity increased greatly to 0.022 g L^?1 h^?1, but yield on xylose declined to 0.49 g g^?1. A mathematical model successfully described substrate consumption and product formation in the LEM‐immobilized cell system. CONCLUSION: Potentially, immobilized cell LEM systems are useful for certain fermentations and they can be successfully modeled, as shown by the example of xylitol from xylose process. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Dehydration of ethanol/water mixtures by pervaporation using soluble polyimide membranes

A series of soluble polyimides derived from 3,3′,4,4′‐benzhydrol tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BHTDA) with various diamines such as 1,4‐bis(4‐aminophenoxy)‐2‐tert‐butylbenzene (BATB), 1,4‐bis(4‐aminophenoxy)‐2,5‐di‐tert‐butylbenzene (BADTB), and 2,2′‐dimethyl‐4,4′‐ bis(4‐aminophenoxy)biphenyl (DBAPB) were investigated for pervaporation separation of ethanol/water mixtures. Diamine structure effect on the pervaporation of 90 wt% aqueous ethanol solution through the BHTDA‐based polyimide membranes was studied. The separation factor ranked in the following order: BHTDA–DBAPB > BHTDA–BATB > BHTDA–BADTB. The increase in molecular volume for the substituted group in the polymer backbone increased the permeation rate. As the feed ethanol concentration increased, the permeation rate increased, while the water concentration in the permeate decreased for all polyimide membranes. The optimum pervaporation performance was obtained by the BHTDA–DBAPB membrane with a 90 wt% aqueous ethanol solution, giving a separation factor of 141, permeation rate of 255 g m^?2 h^?1 and 36 000 pervaporation separation index (PSI) value. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Fermentation of cheese whey powder solution to ethanol in a packed‐column bioreactor: effects of feed sugar concentration

BACKGROUND: Cheese whey powder (CWP) is a concentrated source of lactose and other essential nutrients for ethanol fermentation. CWP solution containing different concentrations of total sugar was fermented to ethanol in an up‐flow packed‐column bioreactor (PCBR) at a constant hydraulic residence time (HRT) of 50 h. Total sugar concentration in the feed was varied between 50 and 200 g L^?1 and a pure culture of Kluyveromyces marxianus was used for ethanol fermentation of lactose. Variations of ethanol and sugar concentrations with the height of the column and with the feed sugar concentration were determined. RESULTS: Ethanol concentration increased and total sugar decreased with the column height for all feed sugar contents. The highest effluent ethanol concentration (22.5 g L^?1) and ethanol formation rate were obtained with feed sugar content of 100 g L^?1. Percentage sugar utilization decreased with increasing feed sugar content above 100 g L^?1 yielding lower ethanol contents in the effluent. The highest ethanol yield coefficient (0.52 gE g^?1S) was obtained with a feed sugar content of 50 g L^?1. Biomass concentration also decreased with column height, yielding low ethanol formation in the upper section of the column. CONCLUSION: The packed column bioreactor was found to be effective for ethanol fermentation from CWP solution. The optimum feed sugar content maximizing the effluent ethanol and the specific rate of ethanol formation was found to be 100 g L^?1. High sugar content above 100 g L^?1 resulted in low ethanol productivities due to high maintenance requirements. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Selective recovery of acetone-butanol-ethanol from aqueous mixture by pervaporation using immobilized ionic liquid polydimethylsiloxane membrane

An effective in situ recovery of acetone, butanol and ethanol (ABE) from fermentation broth is requisite to overcome the low productivity of ABE production. Pervaporation has proven to be one of the best methods for recovering ABE from fermentation broth. We fabricated an immobilized ionic liquid-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane in which a [Tf₂N]^? based ionic liquid covalently bound to the PDMS backbone polymer and used it to recover ABE from aqueous solution by pervaporation. Permeate flux of immobilized IL-PDMS membrane was 7.8 times higher than that of conventional supported IL-PDMS membrane (where ILs are physically absorbed on the supported membrane). Butanol enrichment factor of immobilized IL-PDMS membrane was three-times higher than that of PDMS membrane. In addition, high enrichment factor both to acetone and ethanol as well as high operational stability of immobilized IL-PDMS membrane can enhance the efficacy of ABE recovery by employing this membrane.     

Batch cooling crystallization of xylitol produced by biotechnological route

BACKGROUND: This work deals with the xylitol production by biotechnological routes emphasizing the purification process using crystallization. RESULTS: Xylitol volumetric productivity of 0.665 g L^?1 h^?1 and yield of 0.7024 g g^?1 were obtained after 92 h fermentation. The fermented broth (61.3 g L^?1 xylitol) was centrifuged, treated and concentrated obtain a syrup (745.3 g L^?1 xylitol) which was crystallized twice, xylitol crystals with 98.5–99.2% purity being obtained. CONCLUSION: The hypothetical distribution obtained permits the determination of modeling parameters, which make possible the estimation of crystal dominant size from different initial experimental conditions. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Strain isolation and optimization of process parameters for bioconversion of glycerol to lactic acid

BACKGROUND: The crude glycerol from biodiesel production represents an abundant and inexpensive source which can be used as raw material for lactic acid production. The first aim of this investigation was to select a strain suitable for producing lactic acid from glycerol with a high concentration and productivity. The second aim was to obtain the optimum fermentation conditions, as a basis for large‐scale lactate production in the future. RESULTS: Eight bacterial strains, which could aerobically convert glycerol to lactic acid, were screened from soil samples. One of the strains, AC‐521, which synthesized lactic acid with a higher concentration, was identified based on its 16S rDNA sequences and physiological characteristics. These results indicated that this strain was a member of Escherichia coli. The optimal fermentation conditions for Escherichia coli AC‐521 were 42 °C, pH 6.5, 0.85 min^?1 (K_La). CONCLUSION: Escherichia coli AC‐521 suitable for producing lactic acid from glycerol with high concentration and productivity was identified. After 88 h of fed‐batch fermentation, both the lactic acid concentration and glycerol consumption reached maximum, giving 85.8 g L^?1 of lactic acid with a productivity of 0.97 g L^?1 h^?1 and a yield of 0.9 mol mol^?1 glycerol. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Xylitol production by Candida tropicalis from corn cob hemicellulose hydrolysate in a two‐stage fed‐batch fermentation process

BACKGROUND: Xylitol, a sugar alcohol widely used in food and pharmaceutical industries, can be produced through biological reduction of xylose present in hemicellulose hydrolysates by Candida tropicalis. However, the aeration rate and by‐products originating from hemicellulose hydrolysis strongly inhibit the production of xylitol in a fermentation process. A two‐stage fed‐batch fermentation system was developed to reduce these inhibitory effects and to improve xylitol production from corn cob hemicellulose hydrolysates by C. tropicalis. RESULTS: Results of batch fermentations indicated that high xylitol production could be obtained from C. tropicalis at an initial xylose concentration of 80 g L^?1 in corn cob hydrolysate medium at an aeration rate of 0.4 vvm at the micro‐aeration stage. In the two‐stage fed‐batch fermentation process, 96.5 g L^?1 xylitol was obtained after 120 h, giving a yield of 0.83 g g^?1 and a productivity of 1.01 g L^?1 h^?1, which were 12.16% and 65.57% higher than those in a batch fermentation. CONCLUSION: High xylitol production can be achieved in a two‐stage fed‐batch fermentation process, in which the negative effects of aeration rate and inhibitory compounds on xylitol formation can be considerably reduced. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Continuous biotransformation of pyrogallol to purpurogallin using cross‐linked enzyme crystals of laccase as catalyst in a packed‐bed reactor

Cross‐linked enzyme crystals (CLEC) of laccase were prepared by crystallizing laccase with 75% (NH₄)₂SO₄ and cross‐linking using 1.5% glutaraldehyde. The cross‐linked enzyme crystals were further coated with 1 mmol L^?1 β‐cyclodextrin by lyophilization. The lyophilized enzyme crystals were used as such for the biotransformation of pyrogallol to purpurogallin in a packed‐bed reactor. The maximum conversion (76.28%) was obtained with 3 mmol L^?1 pyrogallol at a residence time of 7.1 s. The maximum productivity (269.03 g L^?1 h^?1) of purpurogallin was obtained with 5 mmol L^?1 pyrogallol at a residence time of 3.5 s. The productivity was found to be 261.14 g L^?1 h^?1 and 251.1 g L^?1 h^?1 when concentrations of 3 mmol L^?1 and 7 mmol L^?1 respectively were used. The reaction rate of purpurogallin synthesis was maximum (2241.94 mg purpurogallin mg^?1 CLEC h^?1) at a residence time of 3.5 s, when 5 mmol L^?1 pyrogallol was used as the substrate. The catalyst to product ratio calculated for the present biotransformation was 1:2241. The CLEC laccase had very high stability in reuse and even after 650 h of continuous use, the enzyme did not lose its activity. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Fermentative production of L(+)‐lactic acid from starch hydrolyzate and corn steep liquor as inexpensive nutrients by batch culture of Enterococcus faecalis RKY1

BACKGROUND: Attempts were made to determine the lactic acid production efficiency of novel isolate, Enterococcus faecalis RKY1 using four different starches (corn, tapioca, potato, and wheat starch) with different concentrations (50, 75, 100, and 125 g L^?1) and corn steep liquor as an inexpensive nitrogen source. RESULTS: The yield of lactic acid from each starch was higher than 95% based on initial starch concentrations. High lactic acid concentration (129.9 g L^?1) and yield (1.04 g‐lactic acid g^?1‐starch) were achieved faster (84 h) from 125 g L^?1 of corn starch. Among the starches used, tapioca starch fermentation usually completed in a shorter incubation period. The final dry cell weight was highest (7.0 g L^?1) for the medium containing 75 g L^?1 of corn starch, which resulted in maximum volumetric productivity of lactic acid (3.6 g L^?1 h^?1). The addition of 30 g L^?1 corn steep liquor supplemented with a minimal amount of yeast extract supported both cell growth and lactic acid fermentation. CONCLUSION: Enterococcus faecalis RKY1 was found to be capable of growing well on inexpensive nutrients and producing maximum lactic acid from starches and corn steep liquor as lower‐cost raw materials than conventionally‐used refined sugars such as glucose, and yeast extract as an organic nitrogen source in laboratory‐scale studies. These fermentation characteristics are prerequisites for the industrial scale production of lactic acid. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry