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Sweet Sorghum Juice and Bagasse as Feedstocks for the Production of Optically Pure Lactic Acid by Native and Engineered Bacillus coagulans Strains

Journal Article · · BioEnergy Research
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [2]
  1. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States); University of Florida
  2. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)
  3. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States). UF Genetics Inst.
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Sweet sorghum is a bioenergy crop that produces large amounts of soluble sugars in its stems (3–7 Mg ha-1) and generates significant amounts of bagasse (15–20 Mg ha-1) as a lignocellulosic feedstock. These sugars can be fermented not only to biofuels but also to bio-based chemicals. The market potential of the latter may be higher given the current prices of petroleum and natural gas. The yield and rate of production of optically pure D-(-)- and L-(+)-lactic acid as precursors for the biodegradable plastic polylactide was optimized for two thermotolerant Bacillus coagulans strains. Strain 36D1 fermented the sugars in unsterilized sweet sorghum juice at 50 °C to L-(+)-lactic acid (~150 g L-1; productivity, 7.2 g L-1 h-1). B. coagulans strain QZ19-2 was used to ferment sorghum juice to d-(-)-lactic acid (~125 g L-1; productivity, 5 g L-1 h-1). Carbohydrates in the sorghum bagasse were also fermented after pretreatment with 0.5 % phosphoric acid at 190 °C for 5 min. Simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation of all the sugars (SScF) by B. coagulans resulted in a conversion of 80 % of available carbohydrates to optically pure lactic acid depending on the B. coagulans strain used as the microbial biocatalyst. Liquefaction of pretreated bagasse with cellulases before SScF (L + SScF) increased the productivity of lactic acid. Here, these results show that B. coagulans is an effective biocatalyst for fermentation of all the sugars present in sweet sorghum juice and bagasse to optically pure lactic acid at high titer and productivity as feedstock for bio-based plastics.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office; USDA; USDOE Office of International Affairs (IA)
Grant/Contract Number:
PI0000031
OSTI ID:
1661477
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1766558
Journal Information:
BioEnergy Research, Journal Name: BioEnergy Research Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 9; ISSN 1939-1234
Publisher:
SpringerCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (3)

Potential Use of Bacillus coagulans in the Food Industry journal June 2018
Efficient l ‐lactic acid production from purified sweet sorghum juice coupled with soybean hydrolysate as nitrogen source by Lactobacillus thermophilus A69 strain journal March 2019
Techno-Economic Evaluation of Cellulosic Ethanol Production Based on Pilot Biorefinery Data: a Case Study of Sweet Sorghum Bagasse Processed via L+SScF journal April 2018

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09 BIOMASS FUELS
Bacillus coagulans
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Lactic acid
Sorghumbicolor