Application of response surface methodology and central composite rotatable design (CCDR) for modelling the influence of agro-industrial waste in lactic acid biosynthesis

Lactic acid (LA) is one of the most important organic acids, with a wide range of industrial and biotechnological applications and can be produced by chemical synthesis and microbial culture. However, the biotech pathway is generally preferred because it provides an optically pure product. In this context, the purpose of this work was to evaluate LA biosynthesis by Lactobacillus amylovorus using molasses as carbon source (CS) and corn steep liquor as nitrogen source (NS) in a central composite rotatable design (CCRD) varying the concentration CS and NS, as well as to validate the model. The method for microbial culture followed an experimental design of the CCRD type, conducted without agitation, at 37ºC in Erlenmeyer flask, with pH in spontaneous evolution. The results showed that, using molasses and corn steep liquor as alternative sources, LA production ranged from 2.8 to 4.6 g/L, respectively, with the most favourable condition being 40.0 g of molasses and 250 g of corn steep liquor. It was possible, from the experimental design, to ascertain the selection of the best conditions for the microbial culture, demonstrating the feasibility of replacing CS and NS by agro-industrial waste, thus reducing the cost of producing LA

Obtaining and characterization of bacterial cellulose synthesized by Komagataeibacter hansenii from alternative sources of nitrogen and carbon

This work aimed to obtain and characterize bacterial cellulose (BC) membranes obtained by cultivating Komagataeibacter hansenii ATCC 23769 using mannitol, glucose, fructose, lactose, glycerol, inulin, and sucrose as carbon sources, and corn steep liquor and Prodex Lac® as alternative sources of nitrogen. The formation of the BC´s gelatinous membrane was monitored for 12 days under static conditions and a temperature of 30 ºC. After purification, the membranes were dried and characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The highest BC concentrations were found in the culture medium containing Prodex Lac® as the source of nitrogen. Among sugars, fructose and mannitol presented the best results. TGA analyzes indicate that all membranes have similar thermal behavior. The FTIR results show that the chemically synthesized membranes are equivalent to the structures cited in the literature. The micrographs obtained by SEM showed that the medium might influence BC´s morphology, but in general, all presented nanofibers, an essential feature in the membrane. Thus, the BC membranes synthesized in this study proved that the BC production using low-cost alternative means is feasible. The material obtained meets the expected thermal, physical, and chemical properties.Keywords: Bacterial cellulose, corn steep liquor, Prodex Lac®, nitrogen sources, carbon sources