Modeling of glycerol production by fermentation in different reactor states

A kinetic model of glycerol production by fermentation with the osmophilic yeast Candida krusei was studied firstly by analogies to published works. Considering that the glycerol produced competes with glucose, as a second carbon source for energy maintenance, mathematical models of glucose utilization and glycerol accumulation were modified further. By adjusting only two variable macrokinetic parameters, K_S and β, the model simulations could fit experimental data well when the reactor was changed from Airlift Loop Reactor in different scale or airlift mode to Stirred Vessel. To avoid a significant reduction in glycerol production in the latter fermentation stage, the final condition of the fermentation, determined by the concentration ratio of glycerol to glucose, was also investigated in four different Reactor States. The kinetic models and simulation results can provide certain reference for scale up of glycerol production by fermentation.     

Glycerol Production by Fermenting Yeast Cells Is Essential for Optimal Bread Dough Fermentation

Glycerol is the main compatible solute in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. When faced with osmotic stress, for example during semi-solid state bread dough fermentation, yeast cells produce and accumulate glycerol in order to prevent dehydration by balancing the intracellular osmolarity with that of the environment. However, increased glycerol production also results in decreased CO₂ production, which may reduce dough leavening. We investigated the effect of yeast glycerol production level on bread dough fermentation capacity of a commercial bakery strain and a laboratory strain. We find that Δgpd1 mutants that show decreased glycerol production show impaired dough fermentation. In contrast, overexpression of GPD1 in the laboratory strain results in increased fermentation rates in high-sugar dough and improved gas retention in the fermenting bread dough. Together, our results reveal the crucial role of glycerol production level by fermenting yeast cells in dough fermentation efficiency as well as gas retention in dough, thereby opening up new routes for the selection of improved commercial bakery yeasts.     

Glycerol Export and Glycerol-3-phosphate Dehydrogenase, but Not Glycerol Phosphatase, Are Rate Limiting for Glycerol Production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Glycerol, one of the most important by-products of alcoholic fermentation, has positive effects on the sensory properties of fermented beverages. It was recently shown that the most direct approach for increasing glycerol formation is to overexpress GPD1, which encodes the glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) isoform Gpd1p. We aimed to identify other steps in glycerol synthesis or transport that limit glycerol flux during glucose fermentation. We showed that the overexpression of GPD2, encoding the other isoform of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (Gpd2p), is equally as effective as the overexpression of GPD1 in increasing glycerol production (3.3-fold increase compared to the wild-type strain) and has similar effects on yeast metabolism. In contrast, overexpression of GPP1, encoding glycerol 3-phosphatase (Gpp1p), did not enhance glycerol production. Strains that simultaneously overexpress GPD1 and GPP1 did not produce higher amounts of glycerol than a GPD1-overexpressing strain. These results demonstrate that GPDH, but not the glycerol 3-phosphatase, is rate-limiting for glycerol production. The channel protein Fps1p mediates glycerol export. It has recently been shown that mutants lacking a region in the N-terminal domain of Fps1p constitutively release glycerol. We showed that cells producing truncated Fps1p constructs during glucose fermentation compensate for glycerol loss by increasing glycerol production. Interestingly, the strain with a deregulated Fps1 glycerol channel had a different phenotype to the strain overexpressing GPD genes and showed poor growth during fermentation. Overexpression of GPD1 in this strain increased the amount of glycerol produced but led to a pronounced growth defect.     

Anaerobic fermentation of glycerol by Escherichia coli: a new platform for metabolic engineering

The worldwide surplus of glycerol generated as inevitable byproduct of biodiesel fuel and oleochemical production is resulting in the shutdown of traditional glycerol-producing/refining plants and new applications are needed for this now abundant carbon source. In this article we report our finding that Escherichia coli can ferment glycerol in a pH-dependent manner. We hypothesize that glycerol fermentation is linked to the availability of CO(2), which under acidic conditions is produced by the oxidation of formate by the enzyme formate hydrogen lyase (FHL). In agreement with this hypothesis, glycerol fermentation was severely impaired by blocking the activity of FHL. We demonstrated that, unlike CO(2), hydrogen (the other product of FHL-mediated formate oxidation) had a negative impact on cell growth and glycerol fermentation. In addition, supplementation of the medium with CO(2) partially restored the ability of an FHL-deficient strain to ferment glycerol. High pH resulted in low CO(2) generation (low activity of FHL) and availability (most CO(2) is converted to bicarbonate), and consequently very inefficient fermentation of glycerol. Most of the fermented glycerol was recovered in the reduced compounds ethanol and succinate (93% of the product mixture), which reflects the highly reduced state of glycerol and confirms the fermentative nature of this process. Since glycerol is a cheap, abundant, and highly reduced carbon source, our findings should enable the development of an E. coli-based platform for the anaerobic production of reduced chemicals from glycerol at yields higher than those obtained from common sugars, such as glucose.     

Long-term repeated fed-batch ethanol fermentation in aerated condition

In this study, we attempted to assess the process stability of long-term fed-batch ethanol fermentation in the absence and presence of aeration (0.33 vvm). To examine the effect of aeration, a long-term repeated fed-batch operation was conducted for 396 h to mimic a long-term industrial bioethanol production process. In this long-term repeated fed-batch ethanol fermentation experiments, withdrawal-fill operation were conducted every 36 h for 10 repeat cycles. The whole operation was stably sustained in a quasi-steady state. The average maximal cell concentration and the average maximal ethanol production during operation were increased by 81.63 and 12.12%, respectively, when aeration was used. In addition, since aeration was carried out, the average ethanol yield slightly decreased by 4.03% and the average specific ethanol production rate decreased by 46.75% during operation. However, the average ethanol productivity increased by 17.53% when aeration was carried out. After 396 h of long-term repeated fed-batch ethanol fermentation, 1,908.9 g of ethanol was cumulatively produced when aeration was used, which was 12.47%, higher than when aeration was not used (1,697.2 g). Meanwhile, glycerol production was greatly decreased during long-term repeated fed-batch ethanol fermentation, in which the glycerol concentration in the culture broth decreased from about 34∼15 g/L. Thus, we can conclude that cell growth was greatly improved by overcoming ethanol inhibition and glycerol production was remarkably decreased when aeration was carried out, although aeration in ethanol fermentation decreased the specific ethanol production rate and ethanol yield.     

Pilot Plant Glycerol Production with a Slow-Feed Osmophilic Yeast Fermentation

A slow feed batch fermentation is described for the production of glycerol from sugar. The conversion efficiency was approximately 1 mole of glycerol produced per mole of glucose utilized after the cell growth phase. The glycerol production phase was extended several-fold by periodic glucose addition. The yeast cell count remained constant during this time as limited by phosphate, a deficiency required for an efficient glycerol fermentation. A small amount of phosphate was supplied during the extended fermentation, maintaining an active culture, by the normal autolysis of spent cells. Interfering or inhibitory by-products did not accumulate, and the osmophilic yeasts are tolerant of high glycerol concentrations. These factors combined to allow a particularly efficient fermentation well suited to product enrichment by supplying large quantities of substrate over an extended period.     

Novel fermentation strategy for enhancing glycerol production by Candida krusei

During the later stage of glycerol production by fermentation of Candida krusei, glycerol consumption by the strain was observed, although there was residual sugar in the medium. To enhance the final glycerol accumulation, a new fermentation strategy was developed by maintaining high activities of glycerol synthetic enzymes (i.e., glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (ctGPD) and glycerol-3-phosphatase (GPP)) for a relatively long period while conducting oxygen limitation at a later stage to inhibit the increase of another enzyme activity related to glycerol degradation (i.e., mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (mtGPD)). With oxygen limitation performed from 88 h, when ctGPD and GPP activities were already at a low level while mtGPD activity was increasing, the glycerol dissimilation was efficiently reduced. The final glycerol concentration reached 55.6 g/L, which was about 18% (96 h) and 30% (104 h) higher than control, and its productivity increased to 0.54 g/(L h). The proposed strategy based on cell physiology was proved useful to the glycerol fermentation process.     

EFFECT OF FERMENTATION PARAMETERS ON BIO-ALCOHOLS PRODUCTION FROM GLYCEROL USING IMMOBILIZED Clostridium pasteurianum: AN OPTIMIZATION STUDY

This article addresses the issue of effect of fermentation parameters for conversion of glycerol (in both pure and crude form) into three value-added products, namely, ethanol, butanol, and 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO), by immobilized Clostridium pasteurianum and thereby addresses the statistical optimization of this process. The analysis of effect of different process parameters such as agitation rate, fermentation temperature, medium pH, and initial glycerol concentration indicated that medium pH was the most critical factor for total alcohols production in case of pure glycerol as fermentation substrate. On the other hand, initial glycerol concentration was the most significant factor for fermentation with crude glycerol. An interesting observation was that the optimized set of fermentation parameters was found to be independent of the type of glycerol (either pure or crude) used. At optimum conditions of agitation rate (200 rpm), initial glycerol concentration (25 g/L), fermentation temperature (30°C), and medium pH (7.0), the total alcohols production was almost equal in anaerobic shake flasks and 2-L bioreactor. This essentially means that at optimum process parameters, the scale of operation does not affect the output of the process. The immobilized cells could be reused for multiple cycles for both pure and crude glycerol fermentation.     

Minimization of Glycerol Production during the High-Performance Fed-Batch Ethanolic Fermentation Process in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Using a Metabolic Model as a Prediction Tool

On the basis of knowledge of the biological role of glycerol in the redox balance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a fermentation strategy was defined to reduce the surplus formation of NADH, responsible for glycerol synthesis. A metabolic model was used to predict the operating conditions that would reduce glycerol production during ethanol fermentation. Experimental validation of the simulation results was done by monitoring the inlet substrate feeding during fed-batch S. cerevisiae cultivation in order to maintain the respiratory quotient (RQ) (defined as the CO₂ production to O₂ consumption ratio) value between 4 and 5. Compared to previous fermentations without glucose monitoring, the final glycerol concentration was successfully decreased. Although RQ-controlled fermentation led to a lower maximum specific ethanol production rate, it was possible to reach a high level of ethanol production: 85 g · liter⁻¹ with 1.7 g · liter⁻¹ glycerol in 30 h. We showed here that by using a metabolic model as a tool in prediction, it was possible to reduce glycerol production in a very high-performance ethanolic fermentation process.     

甘油歧化为1,3-丙二醇的代谢及关键酶研究进展

微生物发酵生产1,3-丙二醇因对环境友好而成为研究热点。通过对发酵菌种、代谢途径、调节子和关键酶的分析,阐述了微生物转化甘油为1,3-丙二醇的分子机理。尤其对还原途径的限速酶-甘油脱水酶的分子结构及再激活因子进行了详细分析,为菌种的遗传改造提供了理论依据。     

甘油歧化为1,3-丙二醇的代谢及关键酶研究进展

微生物发酵生产1,3-丙二醇因对环境友好而成为研究热点。通过对发酵菌种、代谢途径、调节子和关键酶的分析,阐述了微生物转化甘油为1,3-丙二醇的分子机理。尤其对还原途径的限速酶-甘油脱水酶的分子结构及再激活因子进行了详细分析,为菌种的遗传改造提供了理论依据。     

Enhanced hydrogen and 1,3‐propanediol production from glycerol by fermentation using mixed cultures

The conversion of glycerol into high value products, such as hydrogen gas and 1,3‐propanediol (PD), was examined using anaerobic fermentation with heat‐treated mixed cultures. Glycerol fermentation produced 0.28 mol‐H₂/mol‐glycerol (72 mL‐H₂/g‐COD) and 0.69 mol‐PD/mol‐glycerol. Glucose fermentation using the same mixed cultures produced more hydrogen gas (1.06 mol‐H₂/mol‐glucose) but no PD. Changing the source of inoculum affected gas production likely due to prior acclimation of bacteria to this type of substrate. Fermentation of the glycerol produced from biodiesel fuel production (70% glycerol content) produced 0.31 mol‐H₂/mol‐glycerol (43 mL H₂/g‐COD) and 0.59 mol‐PD/mol‐glycerol. These are the highest yields yet reported for both hydrogen and 1,3‐propanediol production from pure glycerol and the glycerol byproduct from biodiesel fuel production by fermentation using mixed cultures. These results demonstrate that production of biodiesel can be combined with production of hydrogen and 1,3‐propanediol for maximum utilization of resources and minimization of waste. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009; 104: 1098–1106. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

两步发酵过程中有机酸对产1，3-丙二醇的影响

考察了基因工程菌发酵生产1.3 丙二醇过程中,有机酸对发酵过程的影响,并选用了不同的离子交换树脂对甘油发酵液进行处理。发现有机酸、特别是乳酸对1.3丙二醇生产的抑制作用最明显。在使用离子交换树脂处理有机酸的过程中,确定了使用005号离子交换树脂处理效果最好,005号离子交换树脂可除去大部分的有机酸,处理后的发酵液发酵产1.3丙二醇产量比未处理的发酵液产量提高166%,转化率提高34%。     

甘油对利福霉素SV生物合成的影响

利福霉素SV脂肪链桥部分的合成是以乙酸单位（由丙二酰CoA提供）和丙酸单位（由甲基丙二酰CoA提供）为延伸单元经过缩合、环化和后修饰而形成的,一些短链碳前体对二碳或三碳延伸单位的合成具有调节作用。研究发现添加一定量的甘油对利福霉素SV的生成具有明显的促进作用,其最适添加量为3％,添加时间以72h为宜,并且分批补加效果更好,最高提高效价21％以上。有机酸分析结果显示,甘油的加入导致乙酸和琥珀酸在胞外积累的增加,促进了EMP和TCA代谢途径,有利于利福霉素SV合成前体的积累。     

补料分批发酵过程中两阶段发酵生产1,3-丙二醇

在补料分批发酵过程中提高比生长速率不仅减少乙醇、甲酸的生成,而且提高1,3-丙二醇的得率和比生产速率.发酵后期甘油的浓度在15～26 g/L时有利于提高1,3-丙二醇的生产.采取在发酵前期控制菌体较高比生长速率和发酵后期控制适宜甘油浓度相结合的策略,有效地提高了1,3-丙二醇的生产,降低副产物乳酸和乙醇的生成.     

克雷伯氏肺炎杆菌LDH526产1,3-丙二醇的甘油自动流加策略

1,3-丙二醇是一种重要的化工原料,主要作为平台化合物用于合成聚酯,如聚对苯二甲酸丙二醇酯。经基因工程改造的克雷伯氏肺炎杆菌LDH526能以甘油作为唯一碳源合成1,3-丙二醇,最终发酵浓度超过90 g/L。甘油浓度是影响1,3-丙二醇合成的关键因素。为了实现对甘油浓度的精确控制,设计并优化了基于发酵动力学的甘油自动流加策略。通过将底物流加速率与易观察变量p H和发酵时间偶联,实现了发酵过程中甘油流加的自启动和甘油浓度的动态控制。发酵72 h,1,3-丙二醇的浓度可稳定超过95 g/L。自动控制甘油流加的发酵过程具有可重复性、连续性以及人工工作量少的特点,有望从实验室规模扩大到生产规模。     

Quantitative analysis of the fermentative metabolism of glycerol in Escherichia coli

Availability, low price, and high degree of reduction have made glycerol a highly attractive and exploited carbon source for the production of fuels and reduced chemicals. Here we report the quantitative analysis of the fermentative metabolism of glycerol in Escherichia coli through the use of kinetic modeling and metabolic control analysis (MCA) to gain a better understanding of glycerol fermentation and identify key targets for genetic manipulation that could enhance product synthesis. The kinetics of glycerol fermentation in a batch culture was simulated using a dynamic model consisting of mass balances for glycerol, ethanol, biomass, and 11 intracellular metabolites, along with the corresponding kinetic expressions for the metabolism of each species. The model was then used to calculate metabolic control coefficients and elucidate the control structure of the pathways involved in glycerol utilization and ethanol synthesis. The calculated flux control coefficients indicate that the glycolytic flux during glycerol fermentation is almost exclusively controlled by the enzymes glycerol dehydrogenase (encoded by gldA) and dihydroxyacetone kinase (DHAK) (encoded by dhaKLM). In agreement with the MCA findings, overexpression of gldA and dhaKLM led to significant increase in glycerol utilization and ethanol synthesis fluxes. Moreover, overexpression of other enzymes involved in the pathways that mediate glycerol utilization and its conversion to ethanol had no significant impact on glycerol utilization and ethanol synthesis, further validating the MCA predictions. These findings were then applied as a means of increasing the production of ethanol: overexpression of glycerol dehyrdogenase and DHAK enabled the production of 20 g/L ethanol from crude glycerol, a by-product of biodiesel production, indicating the potential for industrial scale conversion of waste glycerol to ethanol under anaerobic conditions.     

Fermentation strategies for 1,3-propanediol production from glycerol using a genetically engineered Klebsiella pneumoniae strain to eliminate by-product formation

We generated a genetically engineered Klebsiella pneumoniae strain (AK-VOT) to eliminate by-product formation during production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) from glycerol. In the present study, the glycerol-metabolizing properties of the recombinant strain were examined during fermentation in a 5 L bioreactor. As expected, by-product formation was completely absent (except for acetate) when the AK-VOT strain fermented glycerol. However, 1,3-PD productivity was severely reduced owing to a delay in cell growth attributable to a low rate of glycerol consumption. This problem was solved by establishing a two-stage process separating cell growth from 1,3-PD production. In addition, nutrient co-supplementation, especially with starch, significantly increased 1,3-PD production from glycerol during fed-batch fermentation by AK-VOT in the absence of by-product formation.     

Biodiesel biorefinery: opportunities and challenges for microbial production of fuels and chemicals from glycerol waste

ABSTRACT: The considerable increase in biodiesel production worldwide in the last 5 years resulted in astoichiometric increased coproduction of crude glycerol. As an excess of crude glycerol hasbeen produced, its value on market was reduced and it is becoming a "waste-stream" insteadof a valuable "coproduct". The development of biorefineries, i.e. production of chemicals andpower integrated with conversion processes of biomass into biofuels, has been singled out asa way to achieve economically viable production chains, valorize residues and coproducts,and reduce industrial waste disposal. In this sense, several alternatives aimed at the use ofcrude glycerol to produce fuels and chemicals by microbial fermentation have beenevaluated. This review summarizes different strategies employed to produce biofuels andchemicals (1,3-propanediol, 2,3-butanediol, ethanol, n-butanol, organic acids, polyols andothers) by microbial fermentation of glycerol. Initially, the industrial use of each chemical isbriefly presented; then we systematically summarize and discuss the different strategies toproduce each chemical, including selection and genetic engineering of producers, andoptimization of process conditions to improve yield and productivity. Finally, the impact ofthe developments obtained until now are placed in perspective and opportunities andchallenges for using crude glycerol to the development of biodiesel-based biorefineries areconsidered. In conclusion, the microbial fermentation of glycerol represents a remarkablealternative to add value to the biodiesel production chain helping the development ofbiorefineries, which will allow this biofuel to be more competitive.     

不同发酵条件下产甘油假丝酵母有机酸代谢的研究

产甘油假丝酵母 (Candidaglycerolgenesis)发酵产生的有机酸对丙三醇产品质量和产率均有影响。发现在发酵其它条件恒定 ,装液比和玉米浆浓度增加时 ,发酵液总酸是递增的。在装液比为 0 2和玉米浆浓度为 8g L时 ,丙酮酸和乳酸在细胞生长期可分别积累达 4 1g L和 1 0g L ,比正常发酵时增加 2倍以上 ,丙三醇产率也低 ;然而 ,装液比为 0 0 8和玉米浆浓度为 4g L时 ,丙酮酸和乳酸产生较低 ,丙三醇产率较高 ,但乙酸积累比供氧不足时高 ,可达 2 6g L。发酵过程中有机酸被细胞代谢 ,含量逐渐下降 ,如在初糖浓度为 1 0 0g L时 ,有机酸在细胞生长期积累至高峰后 ,丙三醇和有机酸随之均降低至较低含量 ,并且丙酮酸或乳酸可以转化为乙酸。此外 ,在外加一些添加剂时对其产生有机酸也有影响 ,如添加 1 %油酸和VB1时可以降低乙酸的积累 ,同时增加丙酮酸的含量 ,丙三醇产量也有所增加 ;而丙酮酸结构类似物氟代丙酮酸和亚硫酸盐促进乙酸的产生 ,使酮戊二酸合成减少 ,丙三醇产量约增加 2 0 %。