Models for the biological production of glycerol and biosurfactants from potato-processing industry residuals
- Idaho National Engineering Lab., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
The fermentative production of valuable chemicals from biomass-derived substrates (e.g., glucose) represents the historical essence of industrial biotechnology. In the past, the capabilities of microorganisms to produce useful chemicals have been, at best, sporadically utilized. The primary products produced biotechnologically today are antibiotics and ethanol (for fuel and beverage uses). Many years ago, glycerol (also known as glycerin or glycerine) was produced at an industrial scale by fermentative means. Such production was stimulated by increased demand for glycerol and diversion of petroleum resources during wartime. Biotechnological production of glycerol ceased during peacetime, because the undeveloped and inefficient biotechnological processes that were used could not compete with inexpensive petroleum and natural feedstocks and the efficient and well developed methods by which to convert them to commodity chemicals. Industrial glycerol production by biological conversion of sugar has not occurred since that time. However, several factors, including the historical uncertainty of petroleum price and supply, the demand for environmentally safe industrial processes, and the vast development and improvement of bioprocess technology, suggest that the time for taking advantage of bioprocesses that produce marketable chemicals is near. Glycerol is a good candidate for such a chemical, because it is biologically produced from glucose in good yield (0.5 g glycerol/g glucose), the market is very large (> 140 million kg consumed/yr in the US), and future market growth is predicted to be good because of the widespread usage of glycerol and its historically strong market. Based on this, recent research has involved developing patentable technologies for the conversion of corn starch to glycerol; these efforts have progressed to the pilot plant scale.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-76ID01570
- OSTI ID:
- 150435
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940526-; TRN: 95:007973-0048
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 16. symposium on biotechnology for fuels and chemicals, Gatlinburg, TN (United States), 9-13 May 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Sixteenth symposium on biotechnology for fuels and chemicals; Davison, B.H. [ed.] [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)]; Wyman, C.E. [ed.] [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)]; PB: 823 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Production of Butyric Acid and Butanol from Biomass
Center for Catalysis at Iowa State University