Enhancing Bioconversion of Crude Glycerol into Butanol and 1,3-Propanediol After Pretreatment by Coupling Fermentation and In Situ Recovery: Effect of Initial pH Control
The sharp rise in the worldwide production of biodiesel has created an excess in the crude glycerol market, so it is essential to develop new added-value alternatives for crude glycerol. This paper describes a study on fermenting high concentrations of two types of medium-pure crude glycerol to solv...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Alejandro Ortega Alejo Valles Miguel Capilla Carmen Gabaldón Francisco Javier Álvarez-Hornos Paula Marzal |
| author_facet | Alejandro Ortega Alejo Valles Miguel Capilla Carmen Gabaldón Francisco Javier Álvarez-Hornos Paula Marzal |
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| description | The sharp rise in the worldwide production of biodiesel has created an excess in the crude glycerol market, so it is essential to develop new added-value alternatives for crude glycerol. This paper describes a study on fermenting high concentrations of two types of medium-pure crude glycerol to solvents by <i>Clostridium pasteurianum</i>. The effect of media composition (iron, yeast extract, and vitamins) on solvents production was assessed by a full factorial design with pure glycerol. Granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption was highly effective in removing impurities from crude glycerol. Following GAC pretreatment, fermentation of glycerol at initial concentration as high as 60 g L<sup>−1</sup> was possible, resulting in a butanol production of ~9 g L<sup>−1</sup>. Based on these results, a batch fermentation with in situ gas stripping and pH controlled at ≥6.5 was shown to be the best alternative to enhance biomass growth, glycerol uptake, and solvent production. The combination of controlling pH in the early stages of fermentation with in situ butanol removal stabilised the metabolism of the strain and showed that the fermentation performance with crude glycerol is very similar to that of pure glycerol. With a notable uptake of glycerol (>83%), solvent production was >11 g L<sup>−1</sup> butanol (yield > 0.21 g g<sup>−1</sup><sub>glycerol consumed</sub>) and >6 g L<sup>−1</sup> 1,3-propanediol (yield > 0.13 g g<sup>−1</sup><sub>glycerol consumed</sub>). Setting the fermentation conditions to achieve a high uptake of high levels of glycerol with a similar product distribution is of great interest for the viability of the industrial processing of crude glycerol into chemicals via biological conversion. |
| format | Article |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
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| series | Fermentation |
| spelling | doaj-art-e8878a0c4577440b88cff6723adeb6212025-08-20T03:24:33ZengMDPI AGFermentation2311-56372025-06-0111633910.3390/fermentation11060339Enhancing Bioconversion of Crude Glycerol into Butanol and 1,3-Propanediol After Pretreatment by Coupling Fermentation and In Situ Recovery: Effect of Initial pH ControlAlejandro Ortega0Alejo Valles1Miguel Capilla2Carmen Gabaldón3Francisco Javier Álvarez-Hornos4Paula Marzal5Research Group GI2AM, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat de València, Av. de la Universitat S/N, 46100 Burjassot, SpainResearch Group GI2AM, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat de València, Av. de la Universitat S/N, 46100 Burjassot, SpainResearch Group GI2AM, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat de València, Av. de la Universitat S/N, 46100 Burjassot, SpainResearch Group GI2AM, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat de València, Av. de la Universitat S/N, 46100 Burjassot, SpainResearch Group GI2AM, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat de València, Av. de la Universitat S/N, 46100 Burjassot, SpainResearch Group GI2AM, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat de València, Av. de la Universitat S/N, 46100 Burjassot, SpainThe sharp rise in the worldwide production of biodiesel has created an excess in the crude glycerol market, so it is essential to develop new added-value alternatives for crude glycerol. This paper describes a study on fermenting high concentrations of two types of medium-pure crude glycerol to solvents by <i>Clostridium pasteurianum</i>. The effect of media composition (iron, yeast extract, and vitamins) on solvents production was assessed by a full factorial design with pure glycerol. Granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption was highly effective in removing impurities from crude glycerol. Following GAC pretreatment, fermentation of glycerol at initial concentration as high as 60 g L<sup>−1</sup> was possible, resulting in a butanol production of ~9 g L<sup>−1</sup>. Based on these results, a batch fermentation with in situ gas stripping and pH controlled at ≥6.5 was shown to be the best alternative to enhance biomass growth, glycerol uptake, and solvent production. The combination of controlling pH in the early stages of fermentation with in situ butanol removal stabilised the metabolism of the strain and showed that the fermentation performance with crude glycerol is very similar to that of pure glycerol. With a notable uptake of glycerol (>83%), solvent production was >11 g L<sup>−1</sup> butanol (yield > 0.21 g g<sup>−1</sup><sub>glycerol consumed</sub>) and >6 g L<sup>−1</sup> 1,3-propanediol (yield > 0.13 g g<sup>−1</sup><sub>glycerol consumed</sub>). Setting the fermentation conditions to achieve a high uptake of high levels of glycerol with a similar product distribution is of great interest for the viability of the industrial processing of crude glycerol into chemicals via biological conversion.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/11/6/339activated carbonbutanol<i>Clostridium pasteurianum</i>crude glycerolgas stripping1,3-propanediol |
| spellingShingle | Alejandro Ortega Alejo Valles Miguel Capilla Carmen Gabaldón Francisco Javier Álvarez-Hornos Paula Marzal Enhancing Bioconversion of Crude Glycerol into Butanol and 1,3-Propanediol After Pretreatment by Coupling Fermentation and In Situ Recovery: Effect of Initial pH Control Fermentation activated carbon butanol <i>Clostridium pasteurianum</i> crude glycerol gas stripping 1,3-propanediol |
| title | Enhancing Bioconversion of Crude Glycerol into Butanol and 1,3-Propanediol After Pretreatment by Coupling Fermentation and In Situ Recovery: Effect of Initial pH Control |
| title_full | Enhancing Bioconversion of Crude Glycerol into Butanol and 1,3-Propanediol After Pretreatment by Coupling Fermentation and In Situ Recovery: Effect of Initial pH Control |
| title_fullStr | Enhancing Bioconversion of Crude Glycerol into Butanol and 1,3-Propanediol After Pretreatment by Coupling Fermentation and In Situ Recovery: Effect of Initial pH Control |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancing Bioconversion of Crude Glycerol into Butanol and 1,3-Propanediol After Pretreatment by Coupling Fermentation and In Situ Recovery: Effect of Initial pH Control |
| title_short | Enhancing Bioconversion of Crude Glycerol into Butanol and 1,3-Propanediol After Pretreatment by Coupling Fermentation and In Situ Recovery: Effect of Initial pH Control |
| title_sort | enhancing bioconversion of crude glycerol into butanol and 1 3 propanediol after pretreatment by coupling fermentation and in situ recovery effect of initial ph control |
| topic | activated carbon butanol <i>Clostridium pasteurianum</i> crude glycerol gas stripping 1,3-propanediol |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/11/6/339 |
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