L(+)-Lactic acid is a commonly occurring organic acid, which is valuable due to its wide use in food and food-related industries, and its potential for the production of biodegradable and biocompatible polylactate polymers. The aim of this study was to optimize and scale-up a biotechnological process of L(+)-lactic acid production by suspended cells of R. arrhizus DAR 36017 with waste potato starch as the substrate. Commonly used inorganic and organic nitrogen sources, including ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate, urea, yeast extract and peptone, were assessed in conjunction with various ratios of carbon to nitrogen (C:N). Fermentation media with a low C:N ratio enhanced the production of lactic acid, biomass and ethanol, while a high C:N ratio led to production of more fumaric acid as a by-product. The use of organic nitrogen sources (yeast extract, peptone and urea) resulted in a significant reduction of lactic acid yields by 15% - 34% with a decrease of C:N from 168 to 28. The use of inorganic nitrogen sources (ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulphate) led to a high lactic acid yield of 84% - 91% at a C:N below 168. Therefore, ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulphate were considered to be better nitrogen sources for lactic acid production. Small pellets are the favoured morphological form for many fermentation processes by filamentous fungi. However, to control filamentous Rhizopus sp in the pellet form in a submerged fermentation system is difficult due to its filamentous characteristics. An acidadapted preculture technique was developed to induce the formation of the pellet form in bioreactors. Using the acid-adapted precultures, the fungal biomass can be controlled in small dispersed pellets as a dominant morphological form. With these small pellets, a lactic acid yield of 86-89%, corresponding to a concentration of 86-89g/L, was obtained in a laboratory scale process using a stirred tank reactor (STR) and a bubble column reactor (BCR). A batch bioprocess for lactic acid production was successfully scaled-up from shake flasks to laboratory scale bioreactors. Results from a simulated scale-up process revealed that the concentration and productivity of lactic acid decreased with the increase of the scale-up steps because of increased pellet size. This suggested that a one-step scale-up process using the acid-adapted preculture may be feasible in an industrial-scale bioreactor system. A comprehensive investigation of the impact of cultivation parameters on the morphology of R. arrhizus and lactic acid production was carried out in the BCR. The results showed that the fungal morphology was significantly influenced by carbon sources, pH, starch concentrations, sparger designs and aeration rates. The favoured morphology for lactic acid production was freely dispersed small pellets, which could be retained as a dominant morphology under operation conditions at pH 5.0 – 6.0, starch concentrations of 60 – 120 g/L and aeration rates of 0.2 – 0.8 vvm, using a sintered stainless steel disc sparger. The optimal cultivation conditions at pH 6.0 and aeration rate of 0.4 vvm resulted in the formation of the freely dispersed small pellets and production of 103.8 g/L lactic acid, with a yield of 87%, from 120 g/L liquefied potato starch in 48 h. This study shows a technically feasible and economically promising process for the production of lactic acid from waste potato starch. The use of waste potato starch instead of pure glucose or starch as substrate can significantly reduce the production cost, making this technology environmentally and economically attractive. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1339122 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Chemical Engineering, 2008
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/282091 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Zhang, Zhanying |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Detected Language | English |
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