Use of ceramic-based cell immobilization to produce 1,3-propanediol from biodiesel-derived waste glycerol with Klebsiella pneumoniae

Abstract

Aims: The feasibility of the continuous production of a valuable bioplastic raw material, namely 1,3‐propanediol (1,3‐PDO) from biodiesel by‐product glycerol, using immobilized cells was investigated. In addition, the effect of hydraulic retention time (HRT) was also analysed. Methods and Results: Ceramic balls and ceramic rings were used for the immobilization of a locally isolated strain; Klebsiella pneumoniae (GenBank no. ). HRT of 1 h is the best one in terms of volumetric production rate (g 1,3‐PDO l−1 h−1). The results indicated that ceramic‐based cell immobilization achieved a 2‐fold higher production rate (10 g 1,3‐PDO l−1 h−1) in comparison with suspended cell system (4·9 g 1,3‐PDO l−1 h−1). Conclusions: Continuous cultures with immobilized cells revealed that 1,3‐PDO production was more effective and more stable than suspended culture systems. Furthermore, cell immobilization had also obvious benefits especially for resistance of the production for extreme conditions (high organic loading rates, cell washouts). The results were important for understanding the significance of continuous immobilization process among other well‐known 1,3‐PDO fermentation processes. Significance and Impact of the Study: This work is a promising process for further studies, as the immobilized micro‐organism was able to reach high volumetric production rates at short HRT, it has an important role in tolerating and converting glycerol during fermentation. Therefore, HRT is a very significant operational parameter (P value <0·05) directly affecting the bioreactor performance and production rate.

Continuous bioproduction of 1,3‐propanediol from biodiesel raw glycerol: Operation with free and immobilized cells of Clostridium butyricum DSM 10702

“…Immobilization creates a more stable environment which cannot easily be affected by the change in dilution rate . The use of smaller bioreactors in comparison with the fermentation by suspended cell culture systems would reduce capital costs …”

“…The use of glass beads and glass rushing rings provided productivities of 6 g/(L · h) . Gungormusler et al also reported the benefits of the continuous production of 1,3‐PD from biodiesel derived waste glycerol with cells of K. pneumoniae using ceramic based cell immobilization. The immobilized system presented productivities as high as 10 g/(L · h), two‐fold higher than that reached with suspended cells.…”

Microbial Conversion of Waste Glycerol from Biodiesel Production into Value-Added Products

“…Benefits conferred by cell immobilization might include increased stability in unfavorable environmental conditions during operation as well as avoiding washout [33,131,132]. For example, with microencapsulation, the biomass of K. pneumoniae was increased 2.6-fold compared to free cell cultures [33].…”

Deletingpckimproves growth and suppresses by-product formation during 1,3-propanediol fermentation byKlebsiella pneumoniae

“…; Gungormusler et al . ). Recently, the production of biodiesel has lead to the increased availability of crude glycerol (Lee et al .…”

“…Klebsiella pneumoniae has been the focus of industrial applications for many years, especially for the production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) from glycerol (Biebl et al 1999;Gungormusler et al 2011). Recently, the production of biodiesel has lead to the increased availability of crude glycerol (Lee et al 2015;Tchakouteu et al 2015).…”