Areca husk: An inexpensive substrate for citric acid production by Aspergillus niger under solid state fermentation

Abstract

99-102Areca husk was used as a substrate for the production of citric acid under solid state fermentation (SSF) using a new local soil isolate of Aspergillus niger. A. niger produced 119.42±2.5 g citric acid/kg dry areca husk fermented in the presence of 3% w/w methanol at optimum pH 5.0, 50 % moisture content and 30oC incubation temperature in 3 d. The citric acid yield was 66.7±1% based on the amount of fermentable sugars consumed during fermentation