F. Ozadali et al., FED-BATCH FERMENTATION WITH AND WITHOUT ONLINE EXTRACTION FOR PROPIONIC AND ACETIC-ACID PRODUCTION BY PROPIONIBACTERIUM-ACIDIPROPIONICI, Applied microbiology and biotechnology, 44(6), 1996, pp. 710-716
Fed-batch propionic and acetic acid fermentations were performed in se
mi-defined laboratory medium and in corn steep liquor with Propionibac
terium acidipropionici strain P9. On average, over four experiments, 3
4.5 g/l propionic acid and 12.8 g/l acetic acid were obtained in about
146 h in laboratory medium with 79 g/l glucose added over five feedin
g periods. The highest concentration of propionic acid, 45 g/l, was ob
tained when the glucose concentration was not allowed to drop to zero.
In corn steep liquor 35 g/l propionic acid and 11 g/l acetic acid wer
e produced in 108 h from 59.4 g/l total lactic acid provided as seven
feedings of corn steep liquor. Extractive fed-batch fermentations were
conducted in semi-defined medium using either flat-sheet-supported li
quid membranes or hollow-fiber membrane extraction to remove organic a
cids from the culture medium. As operated during the course of the fer
mentation, these systems extracted 25% and 22% of the acetic acid and
36.5% and 44.5% of the propionic acid, respectively, produced in the f
ermentation. Total amounts of acids produced were about the same as in
comparable nonextractive fermentations: 30-37 g/l propionic acid and
13 g/l acetic acid were produced in 150 h. Limitations on acid product
ion can be attributed to limited substrate feed, not to failure of the
extraction system.