Evaluation of various Bacillus coagulans isolates for the production of high purity L-lactic acid using defatted rice bran hydrolysates

Defatted rice bran (DRB) constitutes an abundant by-product stream, generated during rice milling and subsequent bran oil extraction. Enzymatic hydrolysis of starch and protein content in DRB was optimised in terms of solid loading. Among the four solid loadings evaluated (10%, 15%, 20% and 25%), the hydrolysate derived from 20% solids resulted in the highest concentration of glucose (82.3 g L⁻¹) and free amino nitrogen (234.8 mg L⁻¹). The fermentability of the hydrolysate was evaluated via screening of sixteen isolates. All the strains were able to grow and produce high purity L-lactic acid, utilising the DRB as sole carbon and nutrient source. Among the studied strains, the Bacillus coagulans A107 isolate presented the most promising results in terms of final lactic acid concentration (75.9 g L⁻¹), yield (0.90 g g⁻¹) and productivity (2.7 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹). The results of this study indicate that DRB could be employed as an inexpensive, alternative substrate for L-lactic acid production.