Multi-user equipment approved in grant 2021/06686-8: parallel stirred tank bioreactor

• Grant number: 24/08205-5
• Support Opportunities: Multi-user Equipment Program
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2031
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Valéria de Carvalho Santos Ebinuma
• Grantee: Valéria de Carvalho Santos Ebinuma
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCFAR). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/06686-8 - Biotechnological process for the development of natural colorants from microbial sources for industrial application: phase II, AP.BIOEN.JP2

Abstract

Colorants have been used for centuries to enhance or restore the original appearance of different products and ensure their uniformity. The global market of colorants includes artificial and natural molecules; however, due to the consumer concerns regarding their health, the market for natural products have been raising in several industrial segments, especially, increasing the studies for the microbial production of natural colorants. These bioproducts exhibit further advantages because of their biological activities such as antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Therefore, this project aims to develop a biorefinery of microbial colorants towards a sustainable circular bioeconomy, following the development of 2 sub-projects: 1) Production of azaphilone colorants by Talaromyces amestolkiae and; 2) Production of astaxanthin by Phaffia rhodozyma. For both processes, agroindustrial residues, namely, citrus waste, sugarcane bagasse and straw, will be valorized through their polysaccharide's hydrolysis, which will be then employed as carbon source in the stage of submerged cultivation in stirred tank bioreactor. After, the extraction of colorants using biosolvents-based liquid-liquid extraction platforms will be studied, to ensure an ecologically and environmentally sustainable process. A scale-up of the best process for extracting each colorant will be performed using Centrifugal Partition Chromatography. The toxicity of azaphilone colorants and their application in hydrogels and textile matrices will be also evaluated. As the final stage of the project, the integration of the entire process will combine main upstream and downstream processing aiming to maximize the yield of target colorants. The long-term sustainability of technologies will be assessed through both techno-economic and life cycle analysis (LCA). The present proposal intends to apply a holistic and integrative approach of chemical and biological engineering for the microbial production of natural colorants, aiming to develop an environmentally and economically sustainable process, with a positive impact on the environment and helping to democratize the access to natural and healthier additives. (AU)