Biotech Updates

Propionic Acid Production from Corn Stover Hydrolysate

August 30, 2017
https://biotechnologyforbiofuels.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13068-017-0884-z

The production of value-added chemicals alongside biofuels from lignocellulosic sources could be vital in developing economical biorefineries. Xiaoqing Wang from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory evaluated the production of propionic acid (PA), a potential building block for C3-based chemicals, from corn stover using the PA-producing bacterium, Propionibacterium acidipropionici.

A range of conditions and parameters were examined and optimized to maximize the PA yield. It was found that nitrogen gas exhibits improved performance over carbon dioxide. The effects of different hydrolysate concentrations, nitrogen sources, and neutralization agents were also investigated.

One of the best combinations found used yeast extract (YE) as the primary nitrogen source and NH4OH for pH control. This combination enabled high PA yield concentrations, while successfully minimizing lactic acid production, which can hinder biofuel production.

These results demonstrate the feasibility of producing PA from corn stover hydrolysate, which would be a potential additional income in biofuel production.