Ethanol production from glycerol using immobilized Pachysolen tannophilus during microaerated repeated-batch fermentor culture.

Herein, we established a repeated-batch process for ethanol production from glycerol by immobilized Pachysolen tannophilus. The aim of this study was to develop a more practical and applicable ethanol production process for biofuel. In particular, using industrial-grade medium ingredients, the microaeration rate was optimized for maximization of the ethanol production, and the relevant metabolic parameters were then analyzed. The microaeration rate of 0.11 vvm, which is far lower than those occurring in a shaking flask culture, was found to be the optimal value for ethanol production from glycerol. In addition, it was found that, among those tested, Celite was a more appropriate carrier for the immobilization of P. tannophilus to induce production of ethanol from glycerol. Finally, through a repeated-batch culture, the ethanol yield (Ye/g) of 0.126 ± 0.017 g-ethanol/g-glycerol (n = 4) was obtained, and this value was remarkably comparable with a previous report. In the future, it is expected that the results of this study will be applied for the development of a more practical and profitable long-term ethanol production process, thanks to the industrial-grade medium preparation, simple immobilization method, and easy repeated-batch operation.

Evaluating Carriers for Immobilizing Saccharomyces cerevisiae for Ethanol Production in a Continuous Column Reactor.

We evaluated a more practical and cost-effective immobilization carriers for ethanol production using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Three candidate materials-rice hull, rice straw, and sawdust-were tested for their cell-adsorption capacity and operational durability. Derivatizations of rice hull, rice straw, and sawdust with the optimal concentration of 0.5 M of 2-(diethylamino)ethyl chloride hydrochloride (DEAE · HCl) resulted in > 95% adsorption of the initial yeast cells at 2 hr for DEAE-rice hull and DEAE-sawdust and in only approximately 80% adsorption for DEAE-rice straw. In addition, DEAE-sawdust was found to be a more practical carrier for immobilizing yeast cells in terms of operational durability in shaking flask cultures with two different speeds of 60 and 150 rpm. Furthermore, the biosorption isotherms of DEAE-rice hull, -rice straw, and -sawdust for yeast cells revealed that the Qmax of DEAE-sawdust (82.6 mg/g) was greater than that of DEAE-rice hull and DEAE-rice straw. During the 404-hr of continuous column reactor operation using yeast cells immobilized on DEAE-sawdust, no serious detachment of the yeast cells from the DEAE-sawdust was recorded. Ethanol yield of approximately 3.04 g/L was produced steadily, and glucose was completely converted to ethanol at a yield of 0.375 g-ethanol/g-glucose (73.4% of the theoretical value). Thus, sawdust is a promising practical immobilization carrier for ethanol production, with significance in the production of bioethanol as a biofuel.

Ethanol Production from Glycerol by the Yeast Pachysolen tannophilus Immobilized on Celite during Repeated-Batch Flask Culture.

We investigated a novel process for production of ethanol from glycerol using the yeast Pachysolen tannophilus. After optimization of the fermentation medium, repeated-batch flask culture was performed over a period of 378 hr using yeast cells immobilized on Celite. Our results indicated that the use of Celite for immobilization of P. tannophilus was a practical approach for ethanol production from glycerol, and should be suitable for industrial ethanol production.

Two-step process using immobilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia stipitis for ethanol production from Ulva pertusa Kjellman hydrolysate.

We established a two-step production process using immobilized S. cerevisiae and P. stipitis yeast to produce ethanol from seaweed (U. pertusa Kjellman) hydrolysate. The process was designed to completely consume both glucose and xylose. In particular, the yeasts were immobilized using DEAE-corncob and DEAE-cotton, respectively. The first step of the process included a continuous column reactor using immobilized S. cerevisiae, and the second step included a repeated-batch reactor using immobilized P. stipitis. It was verified that the glucose and xylose in 20 L of medium containing the U. pertusa Kjellman hydrolysate was converted completely to about 5.0 g/l ethanol through the two-step process, in which the overall ethanol yield from total reducing sugar was 0.37 and the volumetric ethanol productivity was 0.126 g/ l/h. The volumetric ethanol productivity of the two-step process was about 2.7 times greater than that when P. stipitis was used alone for ethanol production from U. pertusa Kjellman hydrolysate. In addition, the overall ethanol yield from glucose and xylose was superior to that when P. stipitis was used alone for ethanol production. This two-step process will not only contribute to the development of an integrated process for ethanol production from glucose and xylose-containing biomass hydrolysates, but could also be used as an alternative method for ethanol production.