Integrated Process for the Enzymatic Production of Fatty Acid Sugar Esters Completely Based on Lignocellulosic Substrates.

Lignocellulose can be converted sustainably to fuels, power and value-added chemicals like fatty acid esters. This study presents a concept for the first eco-friendly enzymatic synthesis of economically important fatty acid sugar esters based on lignocellulosic biomass. To achieve this, beech wood cellulose fiber hydrolysate was applied in three manners: as sugar component, as part of the deep eutectic solvent (DES) reaction system and as carbon source for the microbial production of the fatty acid component. These fatty acids were gained from single cell oil produced by the oleaginous yeast Cryptococcus curvatus cultivated with cellulose fiber hydrolysate as carbon source. Afterwards, an immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B was used as the biocatalyst in DES to esterify sugars with fatty acids. Properties of the DES were determined and synthesized sugar mono- and di-esters were identified and characterized using TLC, MS, and NMR. Using this approach, sugar esters were successfully synthesized which are 100% based on lignocellulosic biomass.

Evaluation of Pyrolysis Oil as Carbon Source for Fungal Fermentation.

Pyrolysis oil, a complex mixture of several organic compounds, produced during flash pyrolysis of organic lignocellulosic material was evaluated for its suitability as alternative carbon source for fungal growth and fermentation processes. Therefore several fungi from all phyla were screened for their tolerance toward pyrolysis oil. Additionally Aspergillus oryzae and Rhizopus delemar, both established organic acid producers, were chosen as model organisms to investigate the suitability of pyrolysis oil as carbon source in fungal production processes. It was observed that A. oryzae tolerates pyrolysis oil concentrations between 1 and 2% depending on growth phase or stationary production phase, respectively. To investigate possible reasons for the low tolerance level, eleven substances from pyrolysis oil including aldehydes, organic acids, small organic compounds and phenolic substances were selected and maximum concentrations still allowing growth and organic acid production were determined. Furthermore, effects of substances to malic acid production were analyzed and compounds were categorized regarding their properties in three groups of toxicity. To validate the results, further tests were also performed with R. delemar. For the first time it could be shown that small amounts of phenolic substances are beneficial for organic acid production and A. oryzae might be able to degrade isoeugenol. Regarding pyrolysis oil toxicity, 2-cyclopenten-1-on was identified as the most toxic compound for filamentous fungi; a substance never described for anti-fungal or any other toxic properties before and possibly responsible for the low fungal tolerance levels toward pyrolysis oil.