Butanol production by bioconversion of cheese whey in a continuous packed bed reactor

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2013-06, Vol.138, p.259-265
• Main Authors: Raganati, F., Olivieri, G., Procentese, A., Russo, M.E., Salatino, P., Marzocchella, A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ABE; Acids - metabolism; Bioconversions. Hemisynthesis; Biofilm fixed bed reactor; Biofilms; Biological and medical sciences; Biomass; Bioreactors; Bioreactors - microbiology; Biotechnology; Biotechnology - instrumentation; Biotechnology - methods; Butanol; Butanols - metabolism; Cheese; Cheese whey; Clostridium acetobutylicum - growth & development; Clostridium acetobutylicum - metabolism; Conversion; Feedstock; Fermentation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Methods. Procedures. Technologies; Milk Proteins - metabolism; Reactors; Various methods and equipments; Whey; Whey Proteins
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2013.03.180

•Butanol production by bioconversion of renewable resource.•Clostridium acetobutylicum fermentation of unsupplemented cheese whey.•Operation of a biofilm packed bed reactor.•Optimization of operating conditions. Butanol production by Clostridium acetobutylicum DSM 792 fermentation was investigated. Unsupplemented cheese whey was adopted as renewable feedstock. The conversion was successfully carried out in a biofilm packed bed reactor (PBR) for more than 3months. The PBR was a 4cm ID, 16cm high glass tube with a 8cm bed of 3mm Tygon rings, as carriers. It was operated at the dilution rate between 0.4h−1 and 0.94h−1. The cheese whey conversion process was characterized in terms of metabolites production (butanol included), lactose conversion and biofilm mass. Under optimized conditions, the performances were: butanol productivity 2.66g/Lh, butanol concentration 4.93g/L, butanol yield 0.26g/g, butanol selectivity of the overall solvents production 82wt%.