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Solid-liquid extraction (adsorption or ion exchange) is a promising approach for the in situ separation of organic acids from fermentation broths. In this study, a diluted concentration of lactic acid (<10 g/L) separation from a model fermentation broth by granular activated carbon (GAC) as well as weak (Reillex ® 425 or RLX425) and strong (Amberlite ® IRA-400 or AMB400) base anion exchange resins under various operating conditions was experimentally investigated. Thermodynamic analysis showed that the best lactic acid adsorption performances were obtained at a pH below the pK a value of lactic acid (i.e., 3.86) for GAC and RLX425 by physical adsorption mechanism and above the pK a value for the AMB400 resin by an ion exchange mechanism, respectively. The adsorption capacity for GAC (38.2 mg/g) was the highest, followed by AMB400 (31.2 mg/g) and RLX425 (17.2 mg/g). As per the thermodynamic analysis, the lactic acid adsorbed onto GAC and RLX425 through a physical adsorption mechanism, whereas the lactic acid adsorbed onto AMB400 with an ion exchange mechanism. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm model (R 2 > 0.96) and the pseudo-second order kinetic model (R 2~1 ) fitted better to the experimental data than the other models tested. Postulating the conditions for the real fermentation broth (pH: 5.0-6.5 and temperature: 30-80 • C), the resin AMB400 represents an ideal candidate for the extraction of lactic acid during fermentation.

As the only fuel that is not chemically bound to carbon, hydrogen has gained interest as an energy carrier to face the current environmental issues of greenhouse gas emissions and to substitute the depleting non-renewable reserves. In the last years, there has been a significant increase in the number of publications about the bacterium Thermotoga neapolitana that is responsible for production yields of H2 that are among the highest achievements reported in the literature. Here we present an extensive overview of the most recent studies on this hyperthermophilic bacterium together with a critical discussion of the potential of fermentative production by this bacterium. The review article is organized into sections focused on biochemical, microbiological and technical issues, including the effect of substrate, reactor type, gas sparging, temperature, pH, hydraulic retention time and organic loading parameters on rate and yield of gas production.

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This is the first report describing the purification and enzymatic properties of a native invertase (beta-D-fructosidase) in Thermotogales. The invertase of the hydrogen-producing thermophilic bacterium Thermotoga neapolitana DSM 4359 (hereby named Tni) was a monomer of about 47 kDa having an amino acid sequence quite different from other invertases studied up to now. Its properties and substrates specificity let us classify this protein as a solute-binding protein with invertase activity. Tni was specific for the fructose moiety and the enzyme released fructose from sucrose and raffinose and the fructose polymer inulin was hydrolyzed in an endo-type fashion. Tni had an optimum temperature of 85 degrees C at pH 6.0. At temperatures of 80-85 degrees C, the enzyme retained at least 50% of its initial activity during a 6 h preincubation period. Tni had a K(m) and k(cat)/K(m) values (at 85 degrees C and pH 6.0) of about 14 mM and 5.2 x 10(8) M(-1) s(-1), respectively.