Optimizing aerobic conversion of glycerol to 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde

Abstract

When cells of Klebsiella pneumoniae NRRL B-199 (ATCC 8724) were grown aerobically on a rich glycerol medium and then suspended in buffer supplemented with semicarbazide and glycerol, aerobic conversion of glycerol to 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) ensued. Depending on conditions, 0.38 to 0.67 g of 3-HPA were formed per gram of glycerol consumed. This means that up to 83.8% of the carbon invested as glycerol could potentially be recovered as the target product, 3-HPA. Production of 3-HPA was sensitive to the age of cells harvested for resuspension and was nonexistent if cells were cultivated on glucose instead of glycerol as the sole carbon source. Compared with 24- and 72-h cells, 48-h cells produced 3-HPA at the highest rate and with the greatest yield. The cell biomass concentration present during the fermentation was never particularly critical to the 3-HPA yield, but initial fermentation rates and 3-HPA accumulation displayed a linear dependence on biomass concentration that faded when biomass exceeded 3 g/liter. Fermentation performance was a function of temperature, and an optimum initial specific 3-HPA productivity occurred at 32 degrees C, although the overall 3-HPA yield increased continuously within the 25 to 37 degrees C range studied. The pH optimum based on fermentation rate was different from that based on overall yield; 8 versus 7, respectively. Initial glycerol concentrations in the 20 to 50 g/liter range optimized initial 3-HPA productivity and yield.

3-Hydroxypropionaldehyde: applications and perspectives of biotechnological production

“…The value of HPA as a precursor in the production of useful industrial chemicals, for example plastics, was mentioned as early as 1950 (Hall and Stern 1950), and later for the production of acrylic acid. Slininger and colleagues (Slininger and Bothast 1985;Slininger et al 1983) described the first attempt to produce HPA from renewable resources using modern biotechnology as an alternative for the production of major bulk chemicals.…”

3-Hydroxypropionaldehyde, an inhibitory metabolite of glycerol fermentation to 1,3-propanediol by enterobacterial species

“…The same fraction was also tested for its ability to react with semicarbazide. This last compound impedes 1,3-propanediol production during assimilation of glycerol by microorganisms by trapping 3-HPA (8). Addition of semicarbazide to the supernatant of a fermentation medium caused a net decrease in the peak area of the unknown compound, suggesting the presence of 3-HPA.…”

In Vitro One-Pot 3-Hydroxypropanal Production from Cheap C1 and C2 Compounds

“…coli [ 15 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 41 ], Lactobacillus sp. [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ], and Klebsiella pneumoniae [ 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. 1,3-butanediol, 3,5-dihydroxypentanal, and 3,5-dihydroxyhexanal [ 25 ]; acetate and lactate [ 15 ]; 2,3-butanediol [ 53 ] were major by-products, respectively, during 3-HP or PDO production via 3-HPA as an intermediate.…”