Fermentation Products Glycerol

Romano, P., Suzzi, G., Comi, G., Zironi, R., and Maifreni, M. (1997). Glycerol and other fermentation products of apiculate wine yeasts. J. Appl. Microbiol. 82, 615-618. 

This -ketoadipate pathway produces e.g., succinic acid, a compound used as monomer for the production of aliphatic polyesters. Already in 1881, the production of e.g., 1,3-propanediol by the fermentation of glycerol was reported [8],... 

Many other chemicals can be obtained from both yeast and bacteria fermentation of sugars and pulp mill effluents. Potential fermentation products from wood hydrolysates include acetone, organic acids (acetic, butyric, lactic), glycerol, butanediol, and others.42... 

A spin-off effect of the recent enormous increase in biodiesel production is that the coproduct, glycerol, has become a low-priced commodity chemical. Consequently, there is currently considerable interest in finding new applications of glycerol [204]. One possibility is to use glycerol as the feedstock for fermentative production of 1,3-propanediol (see earlier). 

Although the production of ethanol is the most important pathway to regenerate NAD+, there is an alternative pathway for this purpose. This pathway, called glyceropyruvic fermentation, generates glycerol as its final product (Prior and Hohmann 1996). Figure 1.5 shows the biochemical mechanism of glyceropyruvic fermentation. 

Thornton and coworkers (48) have used classical hybridization techniques, mating homothallic spores to heterothallic spores or cells, to improve winemaking properties, including fermentation efficiency, glycerol production and flocculation. 

The assimilation of CO2 by bacteria was first demonstrated by Wood and Werkman who observed that during the fermentation of glycerol by propionic acid bacteria there was an over-all uptake of COj and that the amount of product (succinic acid) formed corresponded to the CO which was taken up. Since pyruvic acid was known to be present it was proposed that pyruvic acid condenses with CO to produce oxalacetic acid (Fig. 3, Wood-Werkman reaction) which is subsequently converted to succinic acid. 

Industrially, fermentation is carried out using carefully selected microorgauisms appropriate to the substrate under precisely specified conditions. There are various fermentation products including alcohol, glycerol, butyl alcohol, acetone, as well as lactic, acetic, citric, gluconic, and glutamic acids, many of which are also important in food flavorings [35]. 

Other compounds have also been produced. For example, hydrogen was produced by a fermentative strategy using hydrogenase (Hyd) and fhl enzymes [199]. 1,2-PDO has also been produced from glycerol in E. coli by a pathway through DHAP and methylglyoxal [200]. Ethanol and other fermentative products have also been produced [201]. Limonene has been produced by an E. coli strain from... 

Propylene is, next to ethylene, the most important basic chemical to produce not only polypropylene but also other intermediates for example propylene oxide and acrylonitrile. Just like ethylene, propylene can be produced via a hydrocarbon feedstock produced from a biomass [35-37]. Bio-glycerol produced as a byproduct of biodiesel can be dehydrogenated to produce propylene [48]. Bio-based ethylene can be dimerized to produce n-butene, which can then react with remaining ethylene via metathesis to produce propylene [49]. The use of fermentation products of biomass such as 1-butanol [50] enables the formation of n-butene, followed by a subsequent methathesis [49]. Alternatively, hydrothermal carboxylate reforming of fermentation products such as butyric acid or 3-hydroxybutyrate is also proposed as a viable option to propylene [51]. 

Ashby RD, Solaiman DKY, Fogha TA (2004) Bacterial poly(hydroxyalkanoate) polymer production from the biodiesel co-product stream. J Polym Environ 12 105-112 Ashby RD, Solaiman DKY, Foglia TA (2005) Synthesis of short-Zmedium-cheiin-length poly(hydroxyalkanoate) blends by mixed culture fermentation of glycerol Audic J-L, Chaufer B, Daufin G (2003) Non-food applications of milk components and deiiry co-products a review. Lait 83 417—438 Baptist JN (1963) US Patent 3,107,172 Baptist JN (1965) US Patent 3,182,036... 

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