Comparison of three screening methods to select mixed-microbial inoculum for mixed-acid fermentations. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Using a mixed culture of microorganisms, the carboxylate platform converts biomass into hydrocarbons and chemicals. To develop a method that identifies the highest performing inoculum for carboxylate fermentations, five bacterial communities were screened and ranked by three fermentation performance tests: (1) 30-day batch screen, (2) 28-day continuum particle distribution model (CPDM), and (3) 5-month continuous countercurrent fermentation trains. To screen numerous inocula sources, these tests were used sequentially in an aseptic environment. For the batch-fermentation screen, Inoculum 1 achieved the highest conversion. For the CPDM evaluation, the operating map for Inoculum 1 had the highest performance. For the continuous countercurrent fermentation, the train resulting from Inoculum 1 was among the best performers. This study suggests that the three screens are a useful and predictive method for choosing optimal inocula sources. The bacterial community with optimal performance in these three screens could be considered for use in commercial-scale fermentations.

published proceedings

  • Bioresour Technol

author list (cited authors)

  • Golub, K. W., Forrest, A. K., Wales, M. E., Hammett, A., Cope, J. L., Wilkinson, H. H., & Holtzapple, M. T.

citation count

  • 3

complete list of authors

  • Golub, Kristina W||Forrest, Andrea K||Wales, Melinda E||Hammett, Amy Jo M||Cope, Julia L||Wilkinson, Heather H||Holtzapple, Mark T

publication date

  • January 2013