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Title: FERMENTATIVE PRODUCTION OF BIOPOLYMERS AND BIOSURFACTANTS FROM GLYCEROL-RICH BIODIESEL COPRODUCT STREAM AND SOY MOLASSES

Author
item Solaiman, Daniel
item Ashby, Richard - Rick
item Foglia, Thomas
item Marmer, William

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/31/2006
Publication Date: 11/26/2006
Citation: Solaiman, D., Ashby, R.D., Foglia, T.A., Marmer, W.N. 2006. Fermentative production of biopolymers and biosurfactants from glycerol-rich biodiesel coproduct stream and soy molasses. Hou, C.T., Shaw J-F., Editors. Biocatalysis and Biotechnology for Functional Foods and Industrial Products. Boca Raton, FL; CRC Press. p. 431-450.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Fats and oils are important agricultural products produced globally at hundreds of millions of metric tons annually. During processing and utilization of these commodities, large amounts of coproduct streams are produced that require the development of new uses utilization to ease disposal problems and improve processing economics. Many of these coproduct streams are rich sources of fermentable substances and are thus potentially useful low-cost and renewable fermentative feed substrates. Examples are soy molasses generated during the manufacture of soy isolates and concentrates, and the glycerol-rich coproduct stream from biodiesel manufacture. At the same time, there is a need to develop bio-based polymers and surfactants to reduce our dependence on their petroleum-derived counterparts and to address environmental issues posed by petroleum-based polymers and surfactants. In this chapter, we discuss the use of a glycerol-rich biodiesel coproduct stream (BCS) and of soy molasses for the fermentative production of poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (bio-polyesters) and sophorolipids (glycolipid biosurfactants). Our results showed that BCS could support production of the open-chain form of sophorolipids in high yield by Candida bombicola. The use of soy molasses in conjunction with oleic acid as co-substrates, however, resulted in the production of highly lactonized sophorolipids at a lower yield. We also showed that BCS and soy molasses could be used as fermentative substrates for the production of poly(hydroxyalkanoates) by Pseudomonas corrugata or Pseudomonas oleovorans NRRL B-14682.