Zhang, ChijianChijianZhangSharma, ShubhangShubhangSharmaMa, Cheng-WeiCheng-WeiMaZeng, An-PingAn-PingZeng2022-05-252022-05-252022-03-02Biotechnology and Bioengineering 119 (6): 1450-1466 (2022-06-01)http://hdl.handle.net/11420/12693Bioconversion of natural microorganisms generally results in a mixture of various compounds. Downstream processing (DSP) which only targets a single product often lacks economic competitiveness due to incomplete use of raw material and high cost of waste treatment for by-products. Here, we show with the efficient microbial conversion of crude glycerol by an artificially evolved strain and how a catalytic conversion strategy can improve the total products yield and process economy of the DSP. Specifically, Clostridium pasteurianum was first adapted to increased concentration of crude glycerol in a novel automatic laboratory evolution system. At m3 scale bioreactor the strain achieved a simultaneous production of 1,3-propanediol (PDO), acetic and butyric acids at 81.21, 18.72, and 11.09 g/L within only 19 h, respectively, representing the most efficient fermentation of crude glycerol to targeted products. A heterogeneous catalytic step was developed and integrated into the DSP process to obtain high-value methyl esters from acetic and butyric acids at high yields. The coproduction of the esters also greatly simplified the recovery of PDO. For example, a cosmetic grade PDO (96% PDO) was easily obtained by a simple single-stage distillation process (with an overall yield more than 77%). This integrated approach provides an industrially attractive route for the simultaneous production of three appealing products from the crude glycerol fermentation broth, which greatly improve the process economy and ecology.en1097-02902022614501466Wileyhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/1,3-propanediolautomatic adaptive evolutionClostridium pasteurianumcoproductionorganic acid estersTechnikJournal Article10.15480/882.434910.1002/bit.2807010.15480/882.434935234295Other