Production and Scale-Up of Microbial Colorants in a Stirred-Tank Bioreactor: Technological Route for Industrial Applications

• Grant number: 25/21726-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2026
• End date: December 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Valéria de Carvalho Santos Ebinuma
• Grantee: Pedro Garcia Pereira da Silva
• 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

The optimization of microbial colorant production will be conducted in a stirred-tank bioreactor. In alignment with the principles of circular economy and sustainable development, alternative and low-cost carbon sources will be investigated, such as sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate, soybean molasses, oat flour, and rice flour. Structurally, the project will be divided into four complementary stages: Production of polyketide colorants by Talaromyces pinophilus, Production of ¿-carotene and torularhodin by Rhodotorula glutinis, Production of the blue pigment (indigoidine) by Streptomyces lavendulae, Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) of the processes, aiming at potential industrial applications. (AU)