No abstract

The citrus-processing industry generates in the Mediterranean area huge amounts of orange peel as a byproduct from the industrial extraction of citrus juices. To reduce its environmental impact as well as to provide an extra profit, this residue was investigated in this study as an alternative substrate for the fermentative production of citric acid. Orange peel contained 16.9% soluble sugars, 9.21% cellulose, 10.5% hemicellulose, and 42.5% pectin as the most important components. To get solutions rich in soluble and starchy sugars to be used as a carbon source for citric acid fermentation, this raw material was submitted to autohydrolysis, a process that does not make use of any acidic catalyst. Liquors obtained by this process under optimum conditions (temperature of 130 degrees C and a liquid/solid ratio of 8.0 g/g) contained 38.2 g/L free sugars (8.3 g/L sucrose, 13.7 g/L glucose, and 16.2 g/L fructose) and significant amounts of metals, particularly Mg, Ca, Zn, and K. Without additional nutrients, these liquors were employed for citric acid production by Aspergillus niger CECT 2090 (ATCC 9142, NRRL 599). Addition of calcium carbonate enhanced citric acid production because it prevented progressive acidification of the medium. Moreover, the influence of methanol addition on citric acid formation was investigated. Under the best conditions (40 mL of methanol/kg of medium), an effective conversion of sugars into citric acid was ensured (maximum citric acid concentration of 9.2 g/L, volumetric productivity of 0.128 g/(L.h), and yield of product on consumed sugars of 0.53 g/g), hence demonstrating the potential of orange peel wastes as an alternative raw material for citric acid fermentation.

Pericyclic or pseudopericyclic? Although both mechanisms lead to the same product, they are deeply different in nature. The ring‐current model proves to be a useful tool to define different kinds of aromaticity and to distinguish between pericyclic and pseudopericyclic reactions (see scheme).

The cost of biosurfactant production may be significantly decreased by using inexpensive carbon substrates like agricultural residues. However, scarce information can be found in the literature about the utilization of lignocellulosic residues for obtaining biosurfactants. Usually agricultural residues are field burned, producing various toxic compounds to the atmosphere; so, as an interesting alternative to the traditional field burning of this kind of residue, this work proposes the utilization of agricultural wastes (barley bran, trimming vine shoots, corn cobs, and Eucalyptus globulus chips) for simultaneous lactic acid and biosurfactant production. Previous to this biotechnological process, lignocellulosic residues were hydrolyzed, using H2SO4, under selected conditions and neutralized with CaCO3. Following, Lactobacillus pentosus was employed for the fermentation of hemicellulosic hydrolyzates after nutrient supplementation. Biosurfactants were measured by taking into account the surface tension reduction. The highest value of reduction (21.3 units) was found when using hemicellulosic sugar hydrolyzates obtained from trimming vine shoots, corresponding to 0.71 g of biosurfactant per g of biomass and 25.6 g of lactic acid/L. On the contrary, barley bran husk hydrolyzates only produced 0.28 g of biosurfactant per g of biomass and 33.2 g of lactic acid/L. The differences between biosurfactant production can be attributed to the different compositions of the hydrolyzates.

Valencia orange (Citrus sinensis) peel was employed in this work as raw material for the production of 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.