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Propionic acid production by Propionibacterium freudenreichii using sweet sorghum bagasse hydrolysate

  • Biotechnological products and process engineering
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Abstract

Propionic acid, a widely used food preservative and intermediate in the manufacture of various chemicals, is currently produced from petroleum-based chemicals, raising concerns about its long-term sustainability. A key way to make propionic acid more sustainable is through fermentation of low-cost renewable and inedible sugar sources, such as lignocellulosic biomass. To this end, we utilized the cellulosic hydrolysate of sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB), a residue from a promising biomass source that can be cultivated around the world, for fermentative propionic acid production using Propionibacterium freudenreichii. In serum bottles, SSB hydrolysate supported a higher propionic acid yield than glucose (0.51 vs. 0.44 g/g, respectively), which can be attributed to the presence of additional nutrients in the hydrolysate enhancing propionic acid biosynthesis and the pH buffering capacity of the hydrolysate. Additionally, SSB hydrolysate supported better cell growth kinetics and higher tolerance to product inhibition by P. freudenreichii. The yield was further improved by co-fermenting glycerol, a renewable byproduct of the biodiesel industry, reaching up to 0.59 g/g, whereas volumetric productivity was enhanced by running the fermentation with high cell density inoculum. In the bioreactor, although the yield was slightly lower than in serum bottles (0.45 g/g), higher final concentration and overall productivity of propionic acid were achieved. Compared to glucose (this study) and hydrolysates from other biomass species (literature), use of SSB hydrolysate as a renewable glucose source resulted in comparable or even higher propionic acid yields.

Key points

• Propionic acid yield and cell growth were higher in SSB hydrolysate than glucose.

• The yield was enhanced by co-fermenting SSB hydrolysate and glycerol.

• The productivity was enhanced under high cell density fermentation conditions.

• SSB hydrolysate is equivalent or superior to other reported hydrolysates.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the published article

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Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. ST Yang for kindly providing the P. freudenreichii strain.

Funding

This work was supported by the Patel College of Global Sustainability at the University of South Florida.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Patel College of Global Sustainability, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA

    Ehab M. Ammar, Luiza Brabo-Catala & George P. Philippidis

  2. Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, University of Sadat City, El-, Sadat City, Egypt

    Ehab M. Ammar

  3. Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA

    Jessica Martin

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  1. Ehab M. Ammar
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  2. Jessica Martin
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  3. Luiza Brabo-Catala
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  4. George P. Philippidis
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Contributions

EMA conceived the idea, designed and conducted experiments, analyzed data, and wrote the manuscript. JM conducted experiments, helped with data analysis, and wrote the introduction section. LB-C conducted experiments, helped with data analysis, and participated in manuscript editing and revision. GPP conceived the idea, designed experiments, analyzed data, and wrote, edited and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to George P. Philippidis.

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Ammar, E.M., Martin, J., Brabo-Catala, L. et al. Propionic acid production by Propionibacterium freudenreichii using sweet sorghum bagasse hydrolysate. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 104, 9619–9629 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-020-10953-w

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