Efficient co‐production of propionic acid and succinic acid by Propionibacterium acidipropionici using membrane separation coupled technology

Abstract

To improve the fermentation efficiency of Propionibacterium acidipropionici , a semi‐continuous coupled fermentation process was established to achieve co‐production of propionic acid (PA) and succinic acid (SA). First, the optimal proportion of glucose (Glc) and glycerol (Gl) as a mixed carbon source was determined, and the feeding procedure of Gl was optimized to make more energy flow in the direction of product synthesis. Then, ZGD630 anion exchange resin was used for efficient adsorption of PA, thereby eliminating the feedback inhibition effect of PA. Finally, an efficient, coupled fermentation process of P. acidipropionici characterized by membrane separation and chromatography technology was developed. The concentrations of PA and SA reached 62.22 ± 2.32 and 20.45 ± 1.34 g L −1 , with corresponding productivity of 0.43 and 0.14 g L −1 h −1 , increased by 65.38% and 48.54%, respectively. Membrane separation coupled fermentation of PA and SA could significantly improve the process economics of P. acidipropionici , and has good prospects for industrial application.

High cell density sequential batch fermentation for enhanced propionic acid production from glucose and glycerol/glucose mixture using Acidipropionibacterium acidipropionici

“…The use of glycerol:glucose mixture has been reported to enhance PA fermentation kinetics [ 22 – 25 ]. Therefore, it was interesting to investigate the performance of this mixture in high cell density (HCD) fermentation.…”

“…In contrast, glycerol as a more reduced C-source yields PA with fewer acidic by-products [ 7 , 13 , 19 – 21 ]. Several studies have examined the combination of glycerol and glucose as C-sources and found that a mass ratio of 2:1 g/g (4 mol/mol) was optimal for PA production with high yield, productivity, and minimal AA by-product [ 22 – 25 ].…”

“…Furthermore, the production of high amounts of other organic acids as by-products adds to the challenge. To address this issue, several approaches have been explored, such as increasing the initial cell density through either cell immobilization [ 13 , 35 – 39 ] or recycling [ 14 , 40 – 44 ], in situ product removal [ 9 , 15 , 22 , 45 – 48 ], increasing N-source concentration [ 43 , 49 ], using propionic acid-tolerant mutants [ 17 , 35 , 50 – 52 ], continuous removal of the resulting acid via continuous operation [ 13 , 40 ], and genetic engineering to reduce the acidic by-products and increase carbon flux towards PA [ 17 , 24 , 53 – 55 ].…”

Membrane-based continuous fermentation with cell recycling for propionic acid production from glycerol by Acidipropionibacterium acidipropionici

“…With respect to cell retention using a filtration system for PA production, the first report made use of a spin filter in a continuous mode of operation for fermentation of lactose by A. acidipropionici at a dilution rate of 0.05 1/h in a 7 L bioreactor, where 50% of the cells were retained obtaining almost four-fold enhancement of the productivity reaching 0.90 g/L.h compared to that in conventional batch fermentation [ 46 ], very similar to the fivefold increase in productivity at the same dilution rate obtained in the first continuous stage in the present work. Co-production of PA and succinic acid by A. acidipropionici in a semi-continuous fermentation with a 0.20 μm membrane module for separation in a recycling loop coupled with a chromatography device, gave a titer of 62.22 g/L and productivity of 0.43 g/L.h, an increase by 65% [ 57 ]. No contamination as well as no leakage of cells into the permeate was observed during the entire process.…”