Bioprocess optimization for lactic and succinic acid production from a pulp and paper industry side stream.

The effective and cheap production of platform chemicals is a crucial step towards the transition to a bio-based economy. In this work, biotechnological methods using sustainable, cheap, and readily available raw materials bring bio-economy and industrial microbiology together: Microbial production of two platform chemicals is demonstrated [lactic (LA) and succinic acid (SA)] from a non-expensive side stream of pulp and paper industry (fibre sludge) proposing a sustainable way to valorize it towards economically important monomers for bioplastics formation. This work showed a promising new route for their microbial production which can pave the way for new market expectations within the circular economy principles. Fibre sludge was enzymatically hydrolysed for 72 h to generate a glucose rich hydrolysate (100 g·L-1 glucose content) to serve as fermentation medium for Bacillus coagulans A 541, A162 strains and Actinobacillus succinogenis B1, as well as Basfia succiniciproducens B2. All microorganisms were investigated in batch fermentations, showing the ability to produce either lactic or succinic acid, respectively. The highest yield and productivities for lactic production were 0.99 g·g-1 and 3.75 g·L-1·h-1 whereas the succinic acid production stabilized at 0.77 g·g-1 and 1.16 g·L-1·h-1.

Batch and Continuous Lactic Acid Fermentation Based on A Multi-Substrate Approach.

The utilisation of waste materials and industrial residues became a priority within the bioeconomy concept and the production of biobased chemicals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility to continuously produce L-lactic acid from different renewable substrates, in a multi-substrate strategy mode. Based on batch experiments observations, Bacillus coagulans A534 strain was able to continuously metabolise acid whey, sugar beet molasses, sugar bread, alfalfa press green juice and tapioca starch. Additionally, reference experiments showed its behaviour in standard medium. Continuous fermentations indicated that the highest productivity was achieved when molasses was employed with a value of 10.34 g·L-1·h-1, while the lactic acid to sugar conversion yield was 0.86 g·g-1. This study demonstrated that LA can be efficiently produced in continuous mode regardless the substrate, which is a huge advantage in comparison to other platform chemicals.

Reducing Conditions Favor Magnetosome Production in Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1.

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are a heterogeneous group of Gram-negative prokaryotes, which all produce special magnetic organelles called magnetosomes. The magnetosome consists of a magnetic nanoparticle, either magnetite (Fe3O4) or greigite (Fe3S4), embedded in a membrane, which renders the systems colloidaly stable, a desirable property for biotechnological applications. Although these bacteria are able to regulate the formation of magnetosomes through a biologically-controlled mechanism, the environment in general and the physico-chemical conditions surrounding the cells in particular also influence biomineralization. This work thus aims at understanding how such external conditions, in particular the extracellular oxidation reduction potential, influence magnetite formation in the strain Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1. Controlled cultivation of the microorganisms was performed at different redox potential in a bioreactor and the formation of magnetosomes was assessed by microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. Our results show that the formation of magnetosomes is inhibited at the highest potential tested (0 mV), whereas biomineralization is facilitated under reduced conditions (-500 mV). This result improves the understanding of the biomineralization process in MTB and provides useful information in sight of a large scale production of magnetosomes for different applications.