Bioconversion of sugarcane molasses and waste glycerol on single cell oils for biodiesel by the red yeast Rhodotorula glutinis R4 from Antarctica

Valorization of Sugarcane Vinasse and Crude Glycerol for Single-Cell Oils Production by Rhodotorula glutinis R4: A Preliminary Approach to the Integration of Biofuels Industries for Sustainable Biodiesel Feedstock

“…This highlights its potential to produce SCOs with stable and desirable properties. Furthermore, the fatty acids profile proves to be suitable for biodiesel synthesis, complying with international standards [13]. This is an advantage when considering a biotechnological application based on the fatty acids composition.…”

“…The characteristics that affect the properties of biodiesel are the chain length, degree of saturation, and branching of the fatty acids [32]. The SCOs of R4, analyzed by GC-MS after methanolysis, exhibited a predominant presence of long-chain fatty acids (C16-C18) similar to those commonly found in vegetable oils (Table 3), which are currently the main source of lipids for biodiesel production [9,[12][13][14][15]33,34]. The order of relative abundance of fatty acids (FA) present in SCOs from R4 was C18:1 > C16:0 > C18:2 in sugarcane vinasse (at 10 or 25%, v/v) with glucose or crude glycerol as the sole carbon sources, similar to the control condition (GMY) (Table 3).…”

“…Similarly, lipid production surged approximately 2.80-fold, escalating from 1.74 g L −1 to 4.88 g L −1 after 168 h of culture when compared with the culture grown in 10% vinasse and glucose. The positive effect on growth could be attributed to the presence of trace impurities in glycerol, which act as growth factors mitigating the stress induced by vinasse [8,13]. In this regard, the nitrogen contribution from crude glycerol is insignificant (0.0021 g L −1 ) compared to that of 10% vinasse (0.019 g L −1 ).…”

“…In contrast to other oleaginous yeasts, the fatty acids profile of the single-cell oils produced by R. glutinis R4 demonstrates a high degree of stability, exhibiting minimal variability even under different culture conditions. The importance of R. glutinis R4 lies in its consistent fatty acids composition, mainly rich in C18:1 and C16:0, which places it in a prominent position among oleaginous yeasts and even among other Rhodotorula glutinis strains [8,9,[12][13][14][15]. This highlights its potential to produce SCOs with stable and desirable properties.…”

“…Viñarta et al (2016) characterized it as an oleaginous yeast [8]. Subsequent research has highlighted its remarkable capacity for lipid production and accumulation compared to other oleaginous strains present in collections [9] and its ability to utilize different by-products and industrial wastes as substrates [12,13]. In contrast to other oleaginous yeasts, the fatty acids profile of the single-cell oils produced by R. glutinis R4 demonstrates a high degree of stability, exhibiting minimal variability even under different culture conditions.…”