Citric acid production from orange peel wastes by solid-state fermentation

Valencia orange (Citrus sinensis) peel was employed in this work as raw material for the production of citric acid (CA) by solid-state fermentation (SSF) of Aspergillus niger CECT-2090 (ATCC 9142, NRRL 599) in Erlenmeyer flasks. To investigate the effects of the main operating variables, the inoculum concentration was varied in the range 0.5À10³ to 0.7À10(8) spores/g dry orange peel, the bed loading from 1.0 to 4.8 g of dry orange peel (corresponding to 35-80 percent of the total volume), and the moisture content between 50 and 100 percent of the maximum water retention capacity (MWRC) of the material. Moreover, additional experiments were done adding methanol or water in different proportions and ways. The optimal conditions for CA production revealed to be an inoculum of 0.5À10(6) spores/g dry orange peel, a bed loading of 1.0 g of dry orange peel, and a humidification pattern of 70 percent MWRC at the beginning of the incubation with posterior addition of 0.12 mL H2O/g dry orange peel (corresponding to 3.3 percent of the MWRC) every 12 h starting from 62 h. The addition of methanol was detrimental for the CA production. Under these conditions, the SSF ensured an effective specific production of CA (193 mg CA/g dry orange peel), corresponding to yields of product on total initial and consumed sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose) of 376 and 383 mg CA/g, respectively. These results, which demonstrate the viability of the CA production by SSF from orange peel without addition of other nutrients, could be of interest to possible, future industrial applications.

Biotechnological production of citric acid

This work provides a review about the biotechnological production of citric acid starting from the physicochemical properties and industrial applications, mainly in the food and pharmaceutical sectors. Several factors affecting citric acid fermentation are discussed, including carbon source, nitrogen and phosphate limitations, pH of culture medium, aeration, trace elements and morphology of the fungus. Special attention is paid to the fundamentals of biochemistry and accumulation of citric acid. Technologies employed at industrial scale such as surface or submerged cultures, mainly employing Aspergillus niger, and processes carried out with Yarrowia lipolytica, as well as the technology for recovering the product are also described. Finally, this review summarizes the use of orange peels and other by-products as feedstocks for the bioproduction of citric acid.