Immobilization of Clostridium acetobutylicum onto natural textiles and its fermentation properties

Abstract

SummaryImmobilized fermentation has several advantages over traditional suspended fermentation, including simple and continuous operation, improved fermentation performance and reduced cost. Carrier is the most adjustable element among three elements of immobilized fermentation, including carrier, bacteria and environment. In this study, we characterized carrier roughness and surface properties of four types of natural fibres, including linen, cotton, bamboo fibre and silk, to assess their effects on cell immobilization, fermentation performance and stability. Linen with higher specific surface area and roughness could adsorb more bacteria during immobilized fermentation, thereby improving fermentation performance; thus, linen was selected as a suitable carrier and was applied for acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation. To further improve fermentation performance, we also found that microbes of Clostridium acetobutylicum were negatively charged surfaces during fermentation. Therefore, we then modified linen with polyetherimide (PEI) and steric acid (SA) to increase surface positive charge and improve surface property. During ABE fermentation, the adhesion between modified linen and bacteria was increased, adsorption was increased about twofold compared with that of unmodified linen, and butanol productivity was increased 8.16% and 6.80% with PEI‐ and SA‐modified linen as carriers respectively.

Clostridium acetobutylicum Biofilm: Advances in Understanding the Basis

“…and environmental cues (pH, temperature, ionic strength, etc.). Various materials such as cotton fibers, wood pulp fibers, bamboo fibers, bricks, bone char, ceramic beads, glass slide, bagasse, linen, silk, synthetic sponge and non-woven fabric have been reported as biofilm carriers for C. acetobutylicum ( Yen et al, 2011 ; Dolejš et al, 2014 ; Zhuang et al, 2017 ). In other industrial clostridia like C. tyrobutyricum , common carriers were also reported.…”

“…For example, polyetherimide and steric acid were used for carrier modification to increase the cations on linen surface and the hydrophobicity of linen surface, respectively. Using the modified linen as a biofilm carrier, the adhesion of C. acetobutylicum cells was doubled, and the fermentation yield was also improved ( Zhuang et al, 2017 ).…”

Silk Fibroin: An Emerging Biocompatible Material for Application of Enzymes and Whole Cells in Bioelectronics and Bioanalytical Sciences

“…Microbial fuel cells (MFC) and biofuels are emerging areas in the frontier of renewable energy research. In these fields, the biochemical potential of the microbes are converted to bioelectricity in the former and biofuels in the latter case. , High microbial density on the catalytic surface is a prerequisite for optimal performance in both of the instances . The immobilized platform with high surface area and biocompatible property may improve the adhesion of the catalytic bacteria and the linked conversion efficiency of cellular biochemical power to biofuel or bioelectricity.…”

Material‐mediated cell immobilization technology in the biological fermentation proces

“…1). 3 Cell immobilization can be completed through simple operations with long‐term cell viability, repeatability, good stability and tolerance 4,5 . In particular, cell immobilization technology has shown strong potential in the biotechnology sector, as it can improve products fermentation efficiency (titer, yield and productivity) 6,7 .…”