Continuous acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation using SO2-ethanol-water spent liquor from spruce

SO₂–ethanol–water (SEW) spent liquor from spruce chips was successfully used for batch and continuous production of acetone, butanol and ethanol (ABE). Initially, batch experiments were performed using spent liquor to check the suitability for production of ABE. Maximum concentration of total ABE was found to be 8.79 g/l using 4-fold diluted SEW liquor supplemented with 35 g/l of glucose. The effect of dilution rate on solvent production, productivity and yield was studied in column reactor consisting of immobilized Clostridium acetobutylicum DSM 792 on wood pulp. Total solvent concentration of 12 g/l was obtained at a dilution rate of 0.21 h⁻¹. The maximum solvent productivity (4.86 g/l h) with yield of 0.27 g/g was obtained at dilution rate of 0.64 h⁻¹. Further, to increase the solvent yield, the unutilized sugars were subjected to batch fermentation.     

Multi-stage high cell continuous fermentation for high productivity and titer

We carried out the first simulation on multi-stage continuous high cell density culture (MSC-HCDC) to show that the MSC-HCDC can achieve batch/fed-batch product titer with much higher productivity to the fed-batch productivity using published fermentation kinetics of lactic acid, penicillin and ethanol. The system under consideration consists of n-serially connected continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTRs) with either hollow fiber cell recycling or cell immobilization for high cell-density culture. In each CSTR substrate supply and product removal are possible. Penicillin production is severely limited by glucose metabolite repression that requires multi-CSTR glucose feeding. An 8-stage C-HCDC lactic acid fermentation resulted in 212.9 g/L of titer and 10.6 g/L/h of productivity, corresponding to 101 and 429% of the comparable lactic acid fed-batch, respectively. The penicillin production model predicted 149% (0.085 g/L/h) of productivity in 8-stage C-HCDC with 40 g/L of cell density and 289% of productivity (0.165 g/L/h) in 7-stage C-HCDC with 60 g/L of cell density compared with referring batch cultivations. A 2-stage C-HCDC ethanol experimental run showed 107% titer and 257% productivity of the batch system having 88.8 g/L of titer and 3.7 g/L/h of productivity. MSC-HCDC can give much higher productivity than batch/fed-batch system, and yield a several percentage higher titer as well. The productivity ratio of MSC-HCDC over batch/fed-batch system is given as a multiplication of system dilution rate of MSC-HCDC and cycle time of batch/fed-batch system. We suggest MSC-HCDC as a new production platform for various fermentation products including monoclonal antibody.     

Enhanced acetone-butanol fermentation using repeated fed-batch operation coupled with cell recycle by membrane and simultaneous removal of inhibitory products by adsorption

A novel acetone-butanol production process was developed which integrates a repeated fed-batch fermentation with continuous product removal and cell recycle. The inhibitory product concentrations of the fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum were reduced by the simultaneous extraction process using polyvinylpyridine (PVP) as an adsorbent. Because of the reduced inhibition effect, a higher specific cell growth rate and thus a higher product formation rate was achieved. The cell recycle using membrane separation increased the total cell mass density and, therefore, enhanced the reactor productivity. The repeated fed-batchoperation overcame the drawbacks typically associated with a batch operation such as down times, long lag period, and the limitation on the maximum initial substrate concentration allowed due to the substrate inhibition. Unlike a continuous operation, the repeated fed-batch operation could beoperated for a long time at a relatively higher substrate concentration without sacrificing the substrate loss in the effluent. As a result, the integrated process reached 47.2 g/L in the equivalent solvent concentration (including acetone, butanol, and ethanol) and 1.69 g/L . h in the fermentor productivity, on average, over a 239.5-h period. Compared with a controlled traditional batch acetone-butanol fermentation, the equivalent solvent concentration and the tormentor productivity were increased by 140% and 320%, respectively. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons Inc.     

Improvement of mannitol production by Lactobacillus brevis mutant 3-A5 based on dual-stage pH control and fed-batch fermentations

Lactobacillus brevis 3-A5 was isolated and expected to produce mannitol efficiently by regulating pH in batch and fed-batch fermentations. In 48 h batch fermentations with free and constant pH, the optimal pH for cell growth and mannitol production in the first 24 h of incubation was 5.5, whereas that for mannitol production in the second 24 h of incubation was 4.5. To achieve high cell density and mannitol yield simultaneously, a dual-stage pH control strategy was proposed based on the kinetic analysis of mannitol production. The pH value was controlled at 5.5 for the first 12 h of fermentation and subsequently shifted to 4.5 until the fermentation was completed. Under dual-stage pH control fermentation, a 103 g/L yield of mannitol with a volumetric production rate of 3.7 g/L/h was achieved after 28 h. The dual-stage pH control fed-batch fermentation strategy was further developed to improve mannitol yield, wherein the yield increased by 109 % to 215 g/L after 98 h of fermentation. This value is the highest yield of mannitol ever reported using L. brevis.     

Continuous solvent production by Clostridium beijerinckii BA101 immobilized by adsorption onto brick

The performance of a continuous bioreactor containing Clostridium beijerinckii BA101 adsorbed onto clay brick was examined for the fermentation of acetone, butanol, and ethanol (ABE). Dilution rates from 0.3 to 2.5 h^–1 were investigated with the highest solvent productivity of 15.8 g l^–1 h^–1 being obtained at 2.0 h^–1. The solvent yield at this dilution rate was found to be 0.38 g g^–1 and total solvent concentration was 7.9 g l^–1. The solvent yield was maximum at 0.45 at a dilution rate of 0.3 h^–1. The maximum solvent productivity obtained was found to be 2.5 times greater than most other immobilized continuous and cell recycle systems previously reported for ABE fermentation. A higher dilution rate (above 2.0 h^–1) resulted in acid production rather than solvent production. This reactor was found to be stable for over 550 h. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) demonstrated that a large amount of C. beijerinckii cells were adsorbed onto the brick support.     

Acetone butanol ethanol (ABE) production from concentrated substrate: reduction in substrate inhibition by fed-batch technique and product inhibition by gas stripping

Acetone butanol ethanol (ABE) was produced in an integrated fed-batch fermentation-gas stripping product-recovery system using Clostridium beijerinckii BA101, with H₂ and CO₂ as the carrier gases. This technique was applied in order to eliminate the substrate and product inhibition that normally restricts ABE production and sugar utilization to less than 20 g l^–1 and 60 g l^–1, respectively. In the integrated fed-batch fermentation and product recovery system, solvent productivities were improved to 400% of the control batch fermentation productivities. In a control batch reactor, the culture used 45.4 g glucose l^–1 and produced 17.6 g total solvents l^–1 (yield 0.39 g g^–1, productivity 0.29 g l^–1 h^–1). Using the integrated fermentation-gas stripping product-recovery system with CO₂ and H₂ as carrier gases, we carried out fed-batch fermentation experiments and measured various characteristics of the fermentation, including ABE production, selectivity, yield and productivity. The fed-batch reactor was operated for 201 h. At the end of the fermentation, an unusually high concentration of total acids (8.5 g l^–1) was observed. A total of 500 g glucose was used to produce 232.8 g solvents (77.7 g acetone, 151.7 g butanol, 3.4 g ethanol) in 1 l culture broth. The average solvent yield and productivity were 0.47 g g^–1 and 1.16 g l^–1 h^–1, respectively.     

Controlled-ph batch butanol-acetone fermentation by low acid producing Clostridium acetobutylicum B18

Summary C. acetobutylicum B18 produced a large amount of butanol over a wide range of pH (4.5–6.0). At pH 6.0 fermentation and cell growth were most active at pH 6.0, and the highest values of glucose consumption rate (4.37 g/L-h), butanol productivity (1.0 g/L-h), butyric acid recycle rate (0.31 g/L-h), and cell growth rate (0.2 h^-1) were obtained. There existed a critical pH between 6.0 and 6.5 above which cells switched to organic acid producing mode. Clostridial stage appeared essential for solvent production by strain B18 but sporulation was not necessary for solvent formation.     

Whey Fermentation by Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens for Production of a Succinate-Based Animal Feed Additive

Anaerobic fermentation processes for the production of a succinate-rich animal feed supplement from raw whey were investigated with batch, continuous, and variable-volume fed-batch cultures with Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens. The highest succinate yield, 90%, was obtained in a variable-volume fed-batch process in comparison to 80% yield in a batch cultivation mode. In continuous culture, succinate productivity was 3 g/liter/h, and the yield was 60%. Under conditions of excess CO₂, more than 90% of the whey-lactose was consumed, with an end product ratio of 4 succinate to 1 acetate. Under conditions of limited CO₂, lactose was only partially consumed and lactate was the major end product, with lower levels of ethanol, succinate, and acetate. When the succinic acid in this fermentation product was added to rumen fluid, it was completely consumed by a mixed rumen population and was 90% decarboxylated to propionate on a molar basis. The whey fermentation product formed under excess CO₂, which contained mainly organic acids and cells, could potentially be used as an animal feed supplement.     

In situ extractive fermentation of acetone and butanol

The productivity of the acetone-butanol fermentation was increased by continuously removing acetone and butanol from the fermentation broth during fed-batch culture. Whole broth containing viable cells of Clostridium acetobutylicum was cycled to a Karr reciprocating plate extraction column in which acetone and butanol were extracted into oleyl alcohol flowing counter-currently through the column. By continuously removing these toxic metabolites from the broth, end product inhibition was reduced, and a concentrated feed solution containing 300 g/L glucose was fermented at an overall butanol productivity of 1.0 g/L h, 70% higher than the productivity of normal batch fermentation. The continuous extraction process provides flexible operation and lends itself to process scale-up.     

Continuous culture of the microalgae Schizochytrium limacinum on biodiesel-derived crude glycerol for producing docosahexaenoic acid

Crude glycerol is a major byproduct of the biodiesel industry; previous research has proved the feasibility of producing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n − 3) through fermentation of the algae Schizochytrium limacinum on crude glycerol. The objective of this work is to investigate the cell growth kinetics, substrate utilization efficiency, and DHA production of the algae through a continuous culture. Steady-state biomass yield, biomass productivity, growth yield on glycerol, specific glycerol consumption rate, and fatty acid composition were investigated within the range of dilution rate (D) from 0.2 to 0.6 day⁻¹, and the range of feed crude glycerol concentration (S₀) from 15 to 120 g/L. The maximum specific growth rate was determined as 0.692 day⁻¹. The cells had a true growth yield of 0.283 g/g but with a relatively high maintenance coefficient (0.2216 day⁻¹). The highest biomass productivity of 3.88 g/L-day was obtained at D = 0.3 day⁻¹ and S₀ = 60 g/L, while the highest DHA productivity (0.52 g/L-day) was obtained at D = 0.3 day⁻¹ and S₀ = 90 g/L due to the higher DHA content at S₀ = 90 g/L. The biomass and DHA productivity of the continuous culture was comparable to those of batch culture, while lower than the fed-batch culture, mainly because of the lower DHA content obtained by the continuous culture. Overall, the results show that continuous culture is a powerful tool to investigate the cell growth kinetics and physiological behaviors of the algae growing on biodiesel-derived crude glycerol.     

Acetone–butanol–ethanol production with high productivity using Clostridium acetobutylicum BKM19

Conventional acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation is severely limited by low solvent titer and productivities. Thus, this study aims at developing an improved Clostridium acetobutylicum strain possessing enhanced ABE production capability followed by process optimization for high ABE productivity. Random mutagenesis of C. acetobutylicum PJC4BK was performed by screening cells on fluoroacetate plates to isolate a mutant strain, BKM19, which exhibited the total solvent production capability 30.5% higher than the parent strain. The BKM19 produced 32.5 g L^?1 of ABE (17.6 g L^?1 butanol, 10.5 g L^?1 ethanol, and 4.4 g L^?1 acetone) from 85.2 g L^?1 glucose in batch fermentation. A high cell density continuous ABE fermentation of the BKM19 in membrane cell‐recycle bioreactor was studied and optimized for improved solvent volumetric productivity. Different dilution rates were examined to find the optimal condition giving highest butanol and ABE productivities. The maximum butanol and ABE productivities of 9.6 and 20.0 g L^?1 h^?1, respectively, could be achieved at the dilution rate of 0.85 h^?1. Further cell recycling experiments were carried out with controlled cell‐bleeding at two different bleeding rates. The maximum solvent productivities were obtained when the fermenter was operated at a dilution rate of 0.86 h^?1 with the bleeding rate of 0.04 h^?1. Under the optimal operational condition, butanol and ABE could be produced with the volumetric productivities of 10.7 and 21.1 g L^?1 h^?1, and the yields of 0.17 and 0.34 g g^?1, respectively. The obtained butanol and ABE volumetric productivities are the highest reported productivities obtained from all known‐processes. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013; 110: 1646–1653. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Isolation of a Strain of Clostridium thermoaceticum Capable of Growth and Acetic Acid Production at pH 4.5

Using a series of pH controlled batch fermentations operated in a fed-batch mode and adaptation and selection techniques where pH and acetic acid provided the selective pressures, we isolated a culture of Clostridium thermoaceticum that can grow and produce acetic acid at pH 4.5. At pH 4.5 the fastest mass doubling time was 36 h, and the highest acetic acid concentration reached was 4.5 g/liter. Generally, as the pH was decreased from 6.0 and the initial acetic acid concentration increased, the mass doubling time increased, and the final acetic acid concentration decreased. These observations can be explained in terms of inhibition by the free acetic acid concentration at a given pH, relative to the total acetic acid concentration (free acid plus acetate ion). We have thus reached one of the criteria determined by us to be required for an economically viable fermentation acetic acid process, i.e., pH 4.5. A second requirement for a mass doubling time of about 7 h (0.1/h dilution rate) can probably be reached by selection in continuous culture. The final requirement for an acetic acid concentration of 50 g/liter will be the most difficult to achieve in view of the organism's sensitivity to low concentrations of free acetic acid.     

Efficient conversion of lactic acid to butanol with pH-stat continuous lactic acid and glucose feeding method by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum

In order to achieve high butanol production by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4, the effect of lactic acid on acetone–butanol–ethanol fermentation and several fed-batch cultures in which lactic acid is fed have been investigated. When a medium containing 20 g/l glucose was supplemented with 5 g/l of closely racemic lactic acid, both the concentration and yield of butanol increased; however, supplementation with more than 10 g/l lactic acid did not increase the butanol concentration. It was found that when fed a mixture of lactic acid and glucose, the final concentration of butanol produced by a fed-batch culture was greater than that produced by a batch culture. In addition, a pH-controlled fed-batch culture resulted in not only acceleration of lactic acid consumption but also a further increase in butanol production. Finally, we obtained 15.5 g/l butanol at a production rate of 1.76 g/l/h using a fed-batch culture with a pH-stat continuous lactic acid and glucose feeding method. To confirm whether lactic acid was converted to butanol by the N1-4 strain, we performed gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis of butanol produced by a batch culture during fermentation in a medium containing [1,2,3-¹³C₃] lactic acid as the initial substrate. The results of the GC-MS analysis confirmed the bioconversion of lactic acid to butanol.     

Butyric acid fermentation in a fibrous bed bioreactor with immobilized Clostridium tyrobutyricum from cane molasses

Butyrate fermentation by immobilized Clostridium tyrobutyricum was successfully carried out in a fibrous bed bioreactor using cane molasses. Batch fermentations were conducted to investigate the influence of pH on the metabolism of the strain, and the results showed that the fermentation gave a highest butyrate production of 26.2 g l⁻¹ with yield of 0.47 g g⁻¹ and reactor productivity up to 4.13 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹ at pH 6.0. When repeated-batch fermentation was carried out, long-term operation with high butyrate yield, volumetric productivity was achieved. Several cane molasses pretreatment techniques were investigated, and it was found that sulfuric acid treatment gave better results regarding butyrate concentration (34.6 ± 0.8 g l⁻¹), yield (0.58 ± 0.01 g g⁻¹), and sugar utilization (90.8 ± 0.9%). Also, fed-batch fermentation from cane molasses pretreated with sulfuric acid was performed to further increase the concentration of butyrate up to 55.2 g l⁻¹.     

Prospective and development of butanol as an advanced biofuel

Butanol has been acknowledged as an advanced biofuel, but its production through acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation by clostridia is still not economically competitive, due to low butanol yield and titer. In this article, update progress in butanol production is reviewed. Low price and sustainable feedstocks such as lignocellulosic residues and dedicated energy crops are needed for butanol production at large scale to save feedstock cost, but processes are more complicated, compared to those established for ABE fermentation from sugar- and starch-based feedstocks. While rational designs targeting individual genes, enzymes or pathways are effective for improving butanol yield, global and systems strategies are more reasonable for engineering strains with stress tolerance controlled by multigenes. Compared to solvent-producing clostridia, engineering heterologous species such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae with butanol pathway might be a solution for eliminating the formation of major byproducts acetone and ethanol so that butanol yield can be improved significantly. Although batch fermentation has been practiced for butanol production in industry, continuous operation is more productive for large scale production of butanol as a biofuel, but a single chemostat bioreactor cannot achieve this goal for the biphasic ABE fermentation, and tanks-in-series systems should be optimized for alternative feedstocks and new strains. Moreover, energy saving is limited for the distillation system, even total solvents in the fermentation broth are increased significantly, since solvents are distilled to ~ 40% by the beer stripper, and more than 95% water is removed with the stillage without phase change, even with conventional distillation systems, needless to say that advanced chemical engineering technologies can distil solvents up to ~ 90% with the beer stripper, and the multistage pressure columns can well balance energy consumption for solvent fraction. Indeed, an increase in butanol titer with ABE fermentation can significantly save energy consumption for medium sterilization and stillage treatment, since concentrated medium can be used, and consequently total mass flow with production systems can be reduced. As for various in situ butanol removal technologies, their energy efficiency, capital investment and contamination risk to the fermentation process need to be evaluated carefully.     

Enhancement of 5-aminolevulinate production with recombinant Escherichia coli using batch and fed-batch culture system

5-Aminolevulinate (ALA) production with recombinant Escherichia coli Rosetta (DE3)/pET28a(+)-hemA was studied. In batch fermentation, the addition of glucose and glycine was effective to improve ALA production. Then the fed-batch fermentation was conducted with continuous feeding of precursors. When the concentrations of succinic acid and glycine were 7.0 g/l and 4.0 g/l, respectively, in the feeding, the ALA yield reached 4.1g/l. But the molar yield (ALA/glycine) was decreased in the fed-batch fermentation compared to batch fermentation. And it was found that the pH control during fed-batch cultivation was very important for the cell growth and ALA production. A two-stage pH value controlling strategy was suggested, in which, the pH value in the first 6h was regulated at pH 5.9, after then at pH 6.2, and the ALA yield was as high as 6.6g/l via fed-batch fermentation.     

A coupled two-stage continuous fermentation for solvent production by Clostridium acetobutylicum

The effects of nitrogen and phosphate in batch and continuous AEB fermentations were tested. Both nitrogen- and phosphate-limited fermentations favored acid formation but not solvent production. A coupled two-stage continuous fermentation was performed for 30 days with a nitrogen-limited first stage fermentation for enhanced acid production. The bacteria from the acidogenic phase (first stage) fermentation were continuously pumped into a 14-l second stage fermentor with supplemental glucose and nitrogen for solvent production. The second stage fermentor had a maximum butanol productivity of 0.4 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹ (total solvent production was 0.6 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹) at a dilution rate of 0.06 h⁻¹.     

Improvement in the bioreactor specific productivity by coupling continuous reactor with repeated fed-batch reactor for acetone-butanol-ethanol production

In comparison to the different fermentation modes for the production of acetone, butanol and ethanol (ABE) researched to date, the continuous fermentation is the most economically favored. Continuous fermentation with two or more reactor cascade is reported to be the most efficient as it results in a more stable solvent production process. In this work, it is shown that a continuous (first-stage) reactor coupled to a repeated fed-batch (second stage) is superior to batch and fed-batch fermentations, including two-stage continuous fermentation. This is due to the efficient catalyst use, reported through the specific product rate and rapid glucose consumption rate. High solvents are produced at 19.4 g(ABE) l?1, with volumetric productivities of 0.92 g(butanol) l?1 h?1 and 1.47 g(ABE) l ?1 h?1. The bioreactor specific productivities of 0.62 and 0.39 g g?1(cdw) h?1 obtained show a high catalyst activity. This new process mode has not been reported before in the development of ABE fermentation and it shows great potential and superiority to the existing fermentation methods.     

The acetone butanol fermentation on glucose and xylose. II. Regulation and kinetics in fed-batch cultures

The kinetics in fed-batch cultures of acetone butanol fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum is compared on glucose, xylose, and mixtures of both sugars. The final conversion yield of sugars into solvents always increases with the sugar feeding rate. At low feeding rates, the sugar concentration in the medium becomes limiting, which results in a slower cellular growth, a slower metabolic transition from an acid to a solvent fermentation and, thus, a higher accumulation of acids. It is only at sufficiently high feeding rates that fed-batch fermentations yield kinetic results comparable to those of batch fermentations. With mixtures of glucose and xylose, because of a maintained low glucose level, both sugars are taken up at the same rate during a first fermentation period. An earlier accumulation of xylose when the fermentation becomes inhibited suggest that xylose utilization is inhibited when the catabolic flux of glucose alone can satisfy the metabolic activity of the cell. Kinetic results with batch and fed-batch fermentations indicate several important features of the regulation of C. acetobutylicum metabolism: an early inhibition by the produced acids; an initiation of solvent formation between 4 and 6 g/L acetic and butyric acid depending on the metabolic activity of the cell; a metabolic transition from acids to solvents production at a rate closely related to the rate of sugar uptake; during solvent production, a reassimilation of acids above a minimal rate of sugar consumption of 0.2 h(-1); a final inhibition of the fermentation at a total butanol and acids concentration of ca. 20 g/L.     

Extracellular production of a glycolipid biosurfactant, mannosylerythritol lipid, by Candida sp. SY16 using fed-batch fermentation

Candida sp. strain SY16 produces a glycolipid-type biosurfactant, mannosylerythritol lipid (MEL-SY16), which can reduce the surface tension of a culture broth from 72 to 30 dyne cm⁻¹ and highly emulsify hydrocarbons when cultured in soybean-oil-containing media. As such, laboratory-scale fermentation for MEL-SY16 production was performed using optimized conditions. In batch fermentation, MEL-SY16 was mainly produced during the stationary phase of growth, and the concentration of MEL-SY16 reached 37 g l⁻¹ after 200 h. The effect of pH control on the production of MEL-SY16 was also examined in batch fermentation. The highest production yield of MEL-SY16 was when the pH was controlled at 4.0, and the production was significantly improved compared to batch fermentation without pH control. In fed-batch fermentation, glucose and soybean oil (1:1, w/w) were used in combination as the initial carbon sources for cell growth, and soybean oil was used as the feeding carbon source during the MEL production phase. The feeding of soybean oil resulted in the disappearance of any foam and a sharp increase in the MEL production until 200 h, at which point the concentration of MEL-SY16 was 95 g l⁻¹. Among the investigated culture systems, the highest MEL-SY16 production and volumetric production rate were achieved with fed-batch fermentation.