Optimization of butanol production by strains of Clostridium ssp. using lignocellulosic hydrolysate

Author(s)

Beatriz Leite Magalhães

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Biologia
• Defense date: 2015-06-03

Examining board members

Marcelo Brocchi; Daniel Ibraim Pires Atala; Fabiana Fantinatti Garboggini

• Advisor: Marcelo Brocchi

Abstract

Nowadays the production of fuels and petrochemical compounds from renewable sources with high yield and productivity is one of the biggest challenges of the biotechnology industry. Among these petrochemical compounds, butanol stands out as an important industrial chemical and because of its potential to be used as an alternative fuel. Butanol can be produced either from petroleum derivatives, as naturally by anaerobic fermentation using solventogenic clostridia. This fermentation process is known as ABE fermentation because it has as main products acetone, butanol and ethanol (ABE). Currently, the main obstacles to butanol production on industrial scale are the high cost of substrates and the low fermentation performance. In this context, the use of hydrolysate from sugarcane straw, considered an abundant and cheap substrate, could solve in part the problem of the economic viability of the ABE fermentation. However, for the generation of this hydrolyzate, the row material needs a pre-treatment step followed by hydrolysis. After this processing, the generated hydrolyzate is characterized by being a mixture of hexoses and pentoses sugars and by the presence of certain inhibitors of growth, which represents an obstacle to the use of this material in a fermentation. Thus, the search and selection of microorganisms able to metabolize different sugars and tolerant or resistant to the inhibitors present in the hydrolyzate, is seen as an inexpensive and sustainable strategy to enable the use of lignocellulosic hydrolyzates as feedstock for the production of biochemicals and biofuels. Then, the project had as aim the establishment of a condition where the microbiological production of n-butanol is possible, from lignocellulosic hydrolysate, with high yields and productivities. To achieve this objective, the project contemplated the screening of potential strains, resulting in the selection of strains: Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum DSM 14923, outlined by its high butanol production, and Clostridium saccharobutylicum DSM 13864, outlined by its capacity of co-fermenting glucose and xylose. In addition, it was performed the culture medium optimization to obtain a greater tolerance to lignocellulosic hydrolyzate. Through this approach, it was possible to achieve 8 and 3.3-fold improvement in the production of butanol by the strains C. saccharoperbutylacetonicum and C. saccharobutylicum, respectively. Moreover, with this optimized medium, it was possible to perform the cultivation of these strains in higher concentrations of lignocellulosic hydrolysates. Through fermentation tests, it was determined that C. saccharobutylicum DSM 13864, among the others strains tested, has the best performance in lignocellulosic hydrolyzate, with a high sugar consumption even at high concentrations of these substrate, being the most suitable strain for the fermentation at this substrate. On the other hand, the concentration of butanol produced still can be improved, indicating that much remains to be elucidated about the metabolism of this strain in lignocellulosic hydrolyzate. At the end of the work, in addition of the optimization of the culture cultivation and the indication of the most adequate strain for fermentation in lignocellulosic hydrolysates, all the data and basic results generated can be used for the butanol production on industrial scale (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/06308-7 - Optimization of butanol production by mutant strains of Clostridium sp. using sugarcane hydrolyzate
• Grantee: Beatriz Leite Magalhães
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master