Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Bioconversion of crude glycerol by fungi

  • Mini-Review
  • Published:
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The production of synthetic glycerol from petrochemical feedstocks has been decreasing in recent years. This is largely due to increasing supplies of crude glycerol derived as a co-product from the oleochemical industry, especially biodiesel production. The price of glycerol is at historic lows, and the supply of crude glycerol is projected to grow faster than its industrial uses. This oversupply is driving the transition from glycerol as a product to glycerol as a precursor for new industrial applications, including its use as a substrate for bioconversion. This article reviews the use of fungi for the bioconversion of crude glycerol to the value-added products 1,2-propanediol, ethanol, single cell oil, specialty polyunsaturated fatty acids, biosurfactants, and organic acids. Information on the impurities of crude glycerol from different industrial processes is also included.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agarwal GP (1990) Glycerol. Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol 41:95–128

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Amaral PFF, Ferreira TF, Fontes GC, Coelho MA (2009) Glycerol valorization: new biotechnological routes. Food Bioprod Process 87:179–186

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Amaral PFF, Coelho MA, Marrucho IM, Coutinho JAP (2010) Biosurfactants from yeast: characteristics, production and application. Adv Exp Med Biol 671:236–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • André A, Chatzifragkou A, Diamantopoulou P, Sarris D, Philippoussis A, Galiotou-Panayotou M, Komaitis M, Papanikolaou S (2009) Biotechnological conversion of bio-diesel-derived crude glycerol by Yarrowia lipolytica strains. Eng Life Sci 6:498–478

    Google Scholar 

  • André A, Diamantopoulou P, Philippoussis A, Sarris D, Komaitis M, Papanikolaou S (2010) Biotechnological conversions of bio-diesel derived waste glycerol into added-value compounds by higher fungi: production of biomass, single cell oil and oxalic acid. Ind Crops Prod 31:407–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashby RD, Solaiman DKY (2010) The influence of increasing media methanol concentration on sophorolipid biosynthesis from glycerol-based feedstocks. Biotechnol Lett 32:1429–1437

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ashby RD, Nunez A, Solaiman DKY, Foglia TA (2005) Sophorolipid biosynthesis from a biodiesel co-product stream. J Am Oil Chem Soc 82:625–630

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ashby RD, Solaiman DKY, Foglia TA (2006) The use of fatty acid esters to enhance free acid sophorolipid synthesis. Biotechnol Lett 28:253–260

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Athalye SK, Garcia RA, Wen Z (2009) Use of biodiesel-derived crude glycerol for producing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) by the fungus Pythium irregulare. J Agric Food Chem 57:2739–2744

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bleve G, Di Sansebastiano GP, Grieco F (2005) Over-expression of functional Saccharomyces cerevisiae GUP1, induces proliferation of intracellular membranes containing ER and Golgi resident proteins. Biochim Biophys Acta Biomembranes 1808:733–744

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bories A, Sire Y, Colin T (2005) Odorous compounds treatment of winery and distillery effluents during natural evaporation in ponds. Water Sci Technol 51:129–136

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bosson R, Jaquenoud M, Conzelmann A (2006) GUP1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes an O-acyltransferase involved in remodeling of the GPI anchor. Mol Biol Cell 17:2636–2645

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman JA, Correll RL, Ladd JN (1995) Removal of soluble organic carbon from winery and distillery wastewaters by application to soil. Australian J Grape Wine Res 1:39–47

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chatzifragkou A, Makri A, Belka A, Bellou S, Mavrou M, Mastoridou M, Mystrioti P, Onjaro G, Chen HC, Chang CC (1996) Production of γ-linolenic acid by the fungus Cunninghamella echinulata CCRC 31840. Biotechnol Prog 12:338–341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chatzifragkou A, Makri A, Belka A, Bellou S, Mavrou M, Mastoridou M, Mystrioti P, Onjaro G, Aggelis G, Papanikolaou S (2011) Biotechnological conversions of biodiesel derived waste glycerol by yeast and fungal species. Energy 36:1097–1108

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen HC, Chang CC (1996) Production of γ-linolenic acid by the fungus Cunninghamella echinulata CCRC 31840. Biotechnol Prog 12:338–341

  • Christoph R, Schmidt B, Steinberner U, Dilla W, Karinen R (2006) Glycerol. Ullmann’s encyclopedia of industrial chemistry. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim

    Google Scholar 

  • Clomburg J, Gonzalez R (2011) Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the production of 1,2-propanediol from glycerol. Biotechnol Bioeng 108:867–879

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • CRFA (2010) Growing beyond oil delivering our energy future. http://www.greenfuels.org/uploads/documents/crfareportcardenglish2010final.pdf. Accessed 10 August 2011

  • Develter DWG, Lauryssen LML (2010) Properties and industrial applications of sophorolipids. Eur J Lipid Sci Technol 112:628–638

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Easterling ER, French WT, Hernandez R, Licha M (2009) The effect of glycerol as a sole and secondary substrate on the growth and fatty acid composition Rhodoturula glutinis. Bioresource Technol 100:356–361

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fakas S, Makri A, Bellou S, Aggelis G (2009a) Pathways to aerobic glycerol catabolism and their regulation. In: Aggelis G (ed) Microbial conversions of raw glycerol. Nova Science Publishers, New York, pp 9–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Fakas S, Papanikolaou S, Batsos A, Galiotou-Panayotou M, Mallouchos A, Aggelis G (2009b) Evaluating renewable carbon sources as substrates for single cell oil production by Cunninghamella echinulata and Mortierella isabellina. Biomass Bioeng 33:573–580

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira C, Lucas C (2008) The yeast O-acyltransferase Gup1p interferes in lipid metabolism with direct consequences on the sphingolipid-sterol-ordered domains integrity/assembly. Biochim Biophys Acta 1778:2648–2653

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira C, van Voorst F, Martins A, Neves L, Oliveira R, Kielland-Brandt MC, Lucas C, Brandt A (2005) A member of the sugar transporter family, Stl1p is the glycerol/H+ symporter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Biol Cell 16:2068–2076

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira C, Silva S, Faria-Oliveira F, Pinho E, Henriques M, Lucas C (2010) Candida albicans virulence and drug-resistance requires the O-acyltransferase Gup1p. BMC Microbiol 10:238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finogenova TV, Morgunov IG, Kamzolova SV, Cheryavskaya OG (2005) Organic acid production by the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica: a review of prospects. Appl Biochem Microbiol 41:418–425

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grauslund M, Lopes JM, Ronnow B (1999) Expression of GUT1, which encodes glycerol kinase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is controlled by the positive regulators Adr1p, Ino2p and Ino4p and the negative regulator Opi1p in a carbon source-dependent fashion. Nucleic Acids Res 27:4391–4398

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hou CT (2008) Production of arachidonic acid and dihomo-γ-linolenic acid from glycerol by oil-producing filamentous fungi, Mortierella in the ARS culture collection. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 35:501–506

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hu HB, Wood TK (2010) An evolved Escherichia coli strain for producing hydrogen and ethanol from glycerol. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 391:1033–1038

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang L, Zhu YL, Zheng HY, Li YW, Zeng ZY (2008) Continuous production of 1,2-propanediol by the selective hydrogenolysis of solvent-free glycerol under mild conditions. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 83:1670–1675

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Imandi SB, Bandaru VR, Somalanka SR, Garapati HR (2007) Optimization of medium constituents for the production of citric acid from byproduct glycerol using Doehlert experimental design. Enzyme Microb Technol 40:1367–1372

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Israel AU, Obot IB, Asuquo JE (2008) Recovery of glycerol from spent soap lye by-product of soap manufacture. Electron J Chem 5:940–945

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DT, Taconi KA (2007) The glycerol glut: options for the value-added conversion of crude glycerol resulting from biodiesel production. Environ Prog 26:338–348

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jung JH, Yun HS, Lee J, Oh MK (2011) Production of 1,2-propanediol from glycerol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Microbiol Biotechnol 21:846–853

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kamzolova SV, Fatykhova AR, Dedyukhina EG, Anastassiadis SG, Golovchenko NP, Morgunov IG (2011) Citric acid production by yeasts grown on glycerol-containing waste from biodiesel industry. Food Technol Biotechnol 49:65–74

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kayingo G, Martins A, Andrie R, Neves L, Lucas C, Wong B (2009) A permease encoded by STL1 is required for active glycerol uptake by Candida albicans. Microbiol 155:1547–1557

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kivisto A, Santala V, Karp M (2010) Hydrogen production from glycerol using halophilic fermentative bacteria. Bioresource Technol 101:8671–8677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levinson WE, Kurtzman CP, Kuo TM (2007) Characterization of Yarrowia lipolytica and related species for citric acid production from glycerol. Enzyme Microb Technol 41:292–295

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liang Y, Cui Y, Trushenski J, Blackburn JW (2010) Converting crude glycerol from yellow grease to lipids through yeast fermentation. Bioresource Technol 101:7581–7586

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu F, Fang B (2007) Optimization of bio-hydrogen production from biodiesel wastes by Klebsiella pneumonia. Biotechnol J 2:374–380

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Koh CMJ, Ji L (2011) Bioconversion of crude glycerol to glycolipids in Ustilago maydis. Bioresource Technol 102:3927–3933

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mafakher L, Mirbagheri M, Darvishi F, Nahvi I, Zarkesh-Esfahani H, Emtiazi G (2010) Isolation of lipase and citric acid producing yeasts from agro-industrial wastewater. New Biotechnol 27:337–340

    Google Scholar 

  • Makri A, Fakas S, Aggelis G (2010) Metabolic activities of biotechnological interest in Yarrowia lipolytica grown on glycerol in repeated batch cultures. Bioresource Technol 101:2351–2358

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mantzouridou F, Naziri E, Tsimidou MZ (2008) Industrial glycerol as a supplementary carbon source in the production of β-carotene by Blakeslea trispora. J Agric Food Chem 56:2668–2675

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Manzoni M, Rollini M, Bergomi S, Cavazzoni V (1998) Production and purification of statins from Aspergillus terreus strains. Biotechnol Tech 12:529–532

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Matsuzawa T, Ohashi T, Hosomi A, Tanaka N, Tohda H, Takegawa K (2010) The gld1 + gene encoding glycerol dehydrogenase is required for glycerol metabolism in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 87:715–727

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McCoy M (2010) Glycerin surplus. Chem Eng News 84:7

    Google Scholar 

  • Meesters PAEP, Huijberts GNM, Eggink G (1996) High-cell-density cultivation of the lipid accumulating yeast Cryptococcus curvatus using glycerol as a carbon source. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 45:575–579

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meng X, Yang J, Xu X, Zhang L, Nie Q, Xian M (2009) Biodiesel production from oleaginous microorganisms. Renew Energy 34:1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moon SK, Wee YJ, Yun JS, Ryu HW (2004) Production of fumaric acid using rice bran and subsequent conversion to succinic acid through a two-step process. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 115:843–856

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morita T, Konishi M, Fukuoka T, Imura T, Kitamoto D (2007) Microbial conversion of glycerol into glycolipid biosurfactants, mannosylerythritol lipids, by a Basidiomycete yeast, Pseudozyma antartica JCM 10317. J Biosci Bioeng 104:78–81

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morrison LR (2000) Glycerol. Kirk-Othmer encyclopedia of chemical technology. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/0471238961.0712250313151818.a01/pdf. Accessed 12 July 2011

  • Mosse KPM, Patti AF, Christen EW, Cavagnaro TR (2011) Review: winery wastewater quality and treatment options in Australia. Australian J Grape Wine Res 17:111–122

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Musial I, Rymowicz W (2009) Biodiesel by-products used as substrates for oxalic acid production by Aspergillus niger. In: Aggelis G (ed) Microbial conversions of raw glycerol. Nova Science Publishers, New York, pp 31–40

  • NBB (2010) Estimated US biodiesel production by calendar year. http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/fuelfactsheets/default.shtm. Accessed 8 August 2010

  • Nilles D (2006) Combating the glycerine glut. Biodiesel magazine. http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/1123/combating-the-glycerin-glut. Accessed 10 August 2011

  • OECD-FAO (2010) Biofuel production 2010–2019. OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook. http://www.oecd.org/document/9/0,3746,en_36774715_36775671_45438665_1_1_1_1,00.html. Accessed 10 August 10 2011

  • Papanikolaou S, Aggelis G (2002) Lipid production by Yarrowia lipolytica growing on industrial glycerol in a single-stage continuous culture. Bioresource Technol 82:43–49

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Papanikolaou S, Aggelis G (2009) Biotechnological valorization of biodiesel derived glycerol waste through production of single cell oil and citric acid by Yarrowia lipolytica. Lipid Technol 21:83–87

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Papanikolaou S, Muniglia L, Chevalot I, Aggelis G, Marc I (2002) Yarrowia lipolytica as a potential producer of citric acid from raw glycerol. J Appl Microbiol 92:737–744

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Papanikolaou S, Fakas S, Fick M, Chevalot I, Galiotou-Panayotou M, Komaitis M, Marc I, Aggelis G (2008) Biotechnological valorization of raw glycerol discharged after bio-diesel (fatty acid methyl ester) manufacturing process: production of 1,3-propanediol, citric acid and single cell oil. Biomass Bioeng 32:60–71

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pyle DJ, Garcia RA, Wen Z (2008) Producing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich algae from biodiesel-derived crude glycerol: effects of impurities on DHA production and algal biomass composition. J Agric Chem 56:3933–3939

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ratledge C, Wynn JP (2002) The biochemistry and molecular biology of lipid accumulation in oleaginous microorganisms. Adv Appl Microbiol 51:1–44

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rymowicz W, Rywinska A, Marcinkiewicz M (2009) High-yield production of erythritol from raw glycerol in fed-batch cultures of Yarrowia lipolytica. Biotechnol Lett 31:377–380

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rywinska A, Rymowicz W (2010) High-yield production of citric acid by Yarrowia lipolytica on glycerol in repeated-batch bioreactors. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 37:431–435

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rywinska A, Rymowicz W, Zarowska B, Skrzypinski A (2010) Comparison of citric acid production from glycerol and glucose by different strains of Yarrowia lipolytica. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 26:1217–1224

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sabourin-Provost G, Hallenbeck PC (2009) High yield conversion of a crude glycerol fraction from biodiesel production to hydrogen by photofermentation. Bioresource Technol 100:3513–3517

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saenge C, Cheirsilp B, Suksaroge TT, Bourtoom T (2011) Potential use of the oleaginous red yeast Rhodotorula glutinis for the bioconversion of crude glycerol from biodiesel plant to lipids and carotenoids. Process Biochem 46:210–218

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sauer M, Porro D, Mattanovich D, Branduardi P (2007) Microbial production of organic acids: expanding the markets. Trends Biotechnol 26:100–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Selembo PA, Perez JM, Lloyd WA, Logan BE (2009) Enhanced hydrogen and 1,3-propanediol production from glycerol by fermentation using mixed cultures. Biotechnol Bioeng 104:1098–1106

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Soccol CR, Vandenberghe LPS, Rodrigues C, Pandey A (2006) New perspectives for citric acid production and application. Food Technol Biotechnol 44:141–149

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Subramaniam R, Dufreche S, Zappi M, Bajpai R (2010) Microbial lipids from renewable resources: production and characterization. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 37:1271–1287

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson JC, He BB (2006) Characterization of crude glycerol from biodiesel production from multiple feedstocks. Appl Eng Agric 22:261–265

    Google Scholar 

  • Turcotte B, Liang XB, Robert F, Soontorngun N (2009) Transcriptional regulation of nonfermentable carbon utilization in budding yeast. FEMS Yeast Res 10:2–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verhoff FH (2005) Citric acid. Ullmann’s encyclopedia of industrial chemistry. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim

    Google Scholar 

  • Vicente G, Bautista LF, Rodriguez R, Gutierrez FJ, Sadaba I, Ruiz-Vazquez RM, Torres-Martinez S, Garre V (2009) Biodiesel production from biomass of an oleaginous fungus. Biochem Eng J 48:27–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werpy T, Peterson G, Aden A, Bozell J, Holladay J, White J, Manheim A (2004) Top value added chemicals from biomass, volume 1: Results of screening for potential candidates from sugars and synthesis gas. United States Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/pdfs/35523.pdf. Accessed 18 January 2011

  • Willke T, Vorlop K (2008) Biotransformation of glycerol into 1,3-propanediol. Eur J Lipid Sci Technol 110:831–840

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu DB, Madrid CP, Rohr M, Kubicek CP (1989) The influence of type and concentration of the carbon source on production of citric acid by Aspergillus niger. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 30:553–558

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yazdani SS, Gonzalez R (2007) Anaerobic fermentation of glycerol: a path to economic viability for the biofuels industry. Curr Opin Biotechnol 18:213–219

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu KO, Kim SW, Han SO (2010) Engineering of glycerol utilization pathway for ethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Bioresource Technol 101:4157–4161

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuzbashev TV, Yuzbasheva EY, Sobolevskaya TI, Laptev IA, Vybornaya TV, Larina AS, Matsui K, Fukui K, Sineoky SP (2010) Production of succinic acid at low pH by a recombinant strain of the aerobic yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. Biotechnol Bioeng 107:673–682

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou CH, Beltramini JN, Fan YX, Lu GQ (2008) Chemoselective catalytic conversion of glycerol as a biorenewable source to valuable commodity chemicals. Chem Soc Rev 37:527–549

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph—Ridgetown Campus, Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada, N0P 2C0

    R. W. Nicol & K. Marchand

  2. School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

    W. D. Lubitz

  3. Centre for Agricultural Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CARES), Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada

    R. W. Nicol, K. Marchand & W. D. Lubitz

Authors
  1. R. W. Nicol
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. K. Marchand
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. W. D. Lubitz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. W. Nicol.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nicol, R.W., Marchand, K. & Lubitz, W.D. Bioconversion of crude glycerol by fungi. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 93, 1865–1875 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-3921-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-3921-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation