Optimization of Wheat Straw Conversion into Microbial Lipids by <i>Lipomyces tetrasporus</i> DSM 70314 from Bench to Pilot Scale
Antonio Caporusso,
Isabella De Bari,
Aristide Giuliano,
Federico Liuzzi,
Roberto Albergo,
Rocchina Pietrafesa,
Gabriella Siesto,
Assunta Romanelli,
Giacobbe Braccio,
Angela Capece
Affiliations
Antonio Caporusso
Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Laboratory for Processes and Technologies for Biorefineries and Green Chemistry, ENEA C.R. Trisaia S.S. 106 Jonica, 75026 Rotondella (MT), Italy
Isabella De Bari
Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Laboratory for Processes and Technologies for Biorefineries and Green Chemistry, ENEA C.R. Trisaia S.S. 106 Jonica, 75026 Rotondella (MT), Italy
Aristide Giuliano
Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Laboratory for Processes and Technologies for Biorefineries and Green Chemistry, ENEA C.R. Trisaia S.S. 106 Jonica, 75026 Rotondella (MT), Italy
Federico Liuzzi
Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Laboratory for Processes and Technologies for Biorefineries and Green Chemistry, ENEA C.R. Trisaia S.S. 106 Jonica, 75026 Rotondella (MT), Italy
Roberto Albergo
Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Laboratory for Processes and Technologies for Biorefineries and Green Chemistry, ENEA C.R. Trisaia S.S. 106 Jonica, 75026 Rotondella (MT), Italy
Rocchina Pietrafesa
School of Agricultural, Forest, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Viale dell’Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Gabriella Siesto
School of Agricultural, Forest, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Viale dell’Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Assunta Romanelli
Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Laboratory for Processes and Technologies for Biorefineries and Green Chemistry, ENEA C.R. Trisaia S.S. 106 Jonica, 75026 Rotondella (MT), Italy
Giacobbe Braccio
Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Laboratory for Processes and Technologies for Biorefineries and Green Chemistry, ENEA C.R. Trisaia S.S. 106 Jonica, 75026 Rotondella (MT), Italy
Angela Capece
School of Agricultural, Forest, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Viale dell’Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Microbial lipids are renewable platforms for several applications including biofuels, green chemicals, and nutraceuticals that can be produced from several residual carbon sources. Lignocellulosic biomasses are abundant raw materials for the production of second-generation sugars with conversion yields depending on the quality of the hydrolysates and the metabolic efficiency of the microorganisms. In the present work, wheat straw pre-treated by steam explosion and enzymatically hydrolysed was converted into microbial lipids by Lipomyces tetrasporus DSM 70314. The preliminary optimization of the enzymatic hydrolysis was performed at the bench scale through the response surface methodology (RSM). The fermentation medium and set-up were optimized in terms of the nitrogen (N) source and carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio yielding to the selection of soy flour as a N source and C/N ratio of 160. The bench scale settings were scaled-up and further optimized at the 10 L-scale and finally at the 50 L pilot scale bioreactor. Process optimization also included oxygen supply strategies. Under optimized conditions, a lipid concentration of 14.8 gL−1 was achieved corresponding to a 23.1% w/w lipid yield and 67.4% w/w lipid cell content. Oleic acid was the most abundant fatty acid with a percentage of 57%. The overall process mass balance was assessed for the production of biodiesel from wheat straw.