Butanol Production from Leftover Beverages

Giuseppe Olivieri, from Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, and his team aim to identify an alternative disposal process for the high-sugar-content beverages (HSCB) industry as well as contribute to the study of butanol production from non-edible feedstocks. The team evaluated HSCBs as a feedstock for butanol production by Clostridium acetobutylicum DSM 792.

Four types of commercial beverages such as fruit juices, syrups, soft drinks, and a sport drink were investigated. These contained high levels of sugar, mainly glucose, fructose, and sucrose. These sugars were tested individually and in a mixture. The production rate of butanol increased in the following order: glucose, fructose, and sucrose. The tests on the sugars highlighted the feasibility of C. acetobutylicum metabolizing them to produce butanol. Among the beverages tested, the sport drinks gave the maximum butanol production rate of 12 g/L.