Production of butanol from starch-based waste packing peanuts and agricultural waste

We examined the fermentation of starch-based packing peanuts and agricultural wastes as a source of fermentable carbohydrates using Clostridium beijerinckii BA101. Using semidefined P2 medium containing packing peanuts and agricultural wastes, instead of glucose as a carbohydrate source, we measured characteristics of the fermentation including solvent production, productivity, and yield. With starch as substrate (control), the culture produced 24.7 g l−1 acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE), while with packing peanuts it produced 21.7 g l−1 total ABE with a productivity of 0.20 g l−1 h−1 and a solvent (ABE) yield of 0.37. Cell growth in starch, packing peanuts, and agricultural wastes medium was different, possibly due to the different nature of these substrates. Using model agricultural waste, 20.3g l−1 ABE was produced; when using actual waste, 14.8 g l−1 ABE was produced. The use of inexpensive substrates will increase the economic viability of the conversion of biomass to butanol, and can provide new markets for these waste streams. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2002) 29, 117–123 doi: 10.1038/sj.jim.7000285

[1]  N. Qureshi,et al.  Production of acetone-butanol-ethanol from concentrated substrates using Clostridium acetobutylicum in an integrated fermentation-product removal process , 1995 .

[2]  H. Blaschek,et al.  Enhanced Butanol Production by Clostridium beijerinckii BA101 Grown in Semidefined P2 Medium Containing 6 Percent Maltodextrin or Glucose , 1997, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[3]  N. Asp,et al.  A Rapid Method for the Analysis of Starch , 1986 .

[4]  N. Qureshi,et al.  ABE production from corn: a recent economic evaluation , 2001, Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[5]  H. Blaschek,et al.  Isolation and characterization of Clostridium acetobutylicum mutants with enhanced amylolytic activity , 1991, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[6]  N. Qureshi,et al.  Butanol production using Clostridium beijerinckii BA101 hyper-butanol producing mutant strain and recovery by pervaporation , 2000, Applied biochemistry and biotechnology.

[7]  N. Qureshi,et al.  Model for continuous production of solvents from whey permeate in a packed bed reactor using cells of Clostridium acetobutylicum immobilized by adsorption onto bonechar , 1988, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[8]  Nasib Qureshi,et al.  Production of acetone butanol ethanol from degermed corn using Clostridium beijerinckii BA101 , 2002, Applied biochemistry and biotechnology.

[9]  N. Qureshi,et al.  Continuous solvent production from whey permeate using cells of Clostridium acetobutylicum immobilized by adsorption onto bonechar , 1987 .

[10]  N. Qureshi,et al.  Butanol recovery from model solution/fermentation broth by pervaporation: evaluation of membrane performance , 1999 .

[11]  K. Schuster,et al.  Strain comparison and medium preparation for the acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation process using a substrate of potato , 1998 .

[12]  N. Qureshi,et al.  Economics of Butanol Fermentation using Hyper-Butanol Producing Clostridium Beijerinckii BA101 , 2000 .

[13]  H. Blaschek,et al.  Pilot-scale production of butanol by Clostridium beijerinckii BA101 using a low-cost fermentation medium based on corn steep water , 1999, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[14]  J. Gapes,et al.  Solvent production by Clostridium beijerinckii NRRL B592 growing on different potato media , 1998, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.