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    Propionic acid production from food waste in batch reactors: Effect of pH, types of inoculum, and thermal pre-treatment
    In this study, lab-scale batch fermentation tests were carried out at mesophilic temperature (30 °C) to examine the influence of inoculum type, pH-value, and thermal pretreatment of substrate on propionic acid (PA) production from dog food. The selected inocula comprised a mixed bacterial culture, milk, and soft goat cheese. The batch tests were performed at pH 4, pH 6, and pH 8 for both, untreated and thermally pretreated food. Results show that the production of PA and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in general were significantly dependent on the chosen inoculum and adjusted pH value. The maximum PA production rates and yields were determined for the cheese inoculum at pH 6 using untreated and pretreated dog food. PA concentration reached 10 g L−1 and 26.5 g L−1, respectively. Our findings show that by selecting optimal process parameters, an efficient PA production from model food waste can be achieved.
    Publicationtype: Journal Article
    Scopus© Citations 32  43
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    Enhanced production of propionic acid through acidic hydrolysis by choice of inoculum
    BACKGROUND: In this study, the enhancement of propionic acid production from a model feedstock mimicking kitchen waste was investigated. For that purpose, two operational runs of a semicontinuous anaerobic hydrolysis reactor were carried out at pH 6.0 ± 0.1 and mesophilic (30 °C) temperature. Two different types of inocula, a mixed microbial culture selected over 24 months for growth on cellulose and a culture contained in goat cheese were compared. RESULTS: The results show that the goat cheese inoculum was significantly more efficient for propionic acid (PA) production. The highest propionic acid concentration achieved amounted to 139 mmol L−1 at a yield of 23.3 mg g−1 volatile solids (VS), which was 55% greater than what was achieved with the mixed culture. Furthermore, it was observed that propionic acid production was enhanced by a combination of high hydraulic retention time (HRT) with low organic loading rate (OLR), ensuring sufficient time for complete processing of the complex organic substrates. The fermentation could be kept in a stable process of propionic acid production at HRT of 20 days and a rather low OLR of 11.1 g L−1 day−1 VS. CONCLUSION: Our results give a better understanding of PA production in semicontinuous mode, applying optimized process parameters and selecting the adequate microbial community for inoculation. This study provides important information for the improvement of PA production from complex substrates for future industrial application. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).
    Publicationtype: Journal Article
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    Development of a production chain from vegetable biowaste to platform chemicals
    Background: A future bioeconomy relies on the development of technologies to convert waste into valuable compounds. We present here an attempt to design a biotechnological cascade for the conversion of vegetable waste into acetoin and electrical energy. Results: A vegetable waste dark fermentation effluent containing mainly acetate, butyrate and propionate was oxidized in a bioelectrochemical system. The achieved average current at a constant anode potential of 0 mV against standard hydrogen electrode was 177.5 ± 52.5 μA/cm2. During this step, acetate and butyrate were removed from the effluent while propionate was the major remaining component of the total organic carbon content comprising on average 75.6%. The key players with regard to carbon oxidation and electrode reduction were revealed using amplicon sequencing and metatranscriptomic analysis. Using nanofiltration, it was possible to concentrate the propionate in the effluent. The effluent was revealed to be a suitable medium for biotechnological production strains. As a proof of principle, the propionate in the effluent of the bioelectrochemical system was converted into the platform chemical acetoin with a carbon recovery of 86%. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on a full biotechnological production chain leading from vegetable waste to the production of a single valuable platform chemical that integrates carbon elimination steps leading to the production of the valuable side product electrical energy.
    Publicationtype: Journal Article
    Scopus© Citations 12  144  169