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A sensitive LC-MS/MS method was established to quantify diols and glycerol in fermentation broth using trichloroacetyl isocyanate as instantaneous derivatization reagent for monitoring the production of 1,3-propanediol and 2,3-butanediol from the biodiesel biorefinery process. Due to the derivatization reaction was very quickly at room temperature, only 1 min was needed for the reaction process. In addition, both extraction of analytes and evaporation of water were not employed in the analytical procedure. Furthermore, the isotope of chlorine was beneficial for understanding of the secondary mass spectrum and avoiding false positive results. Therefore, much more accurate results of diols and glycerol concentration in fermentation could be obtained even at very low levels for the evaluation of microbial metabolism pathway modification., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Hybrid process that integrated fermentation, pervaporation and esterification was established aiming to improve the economic feasibility of the conventional acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation process. Candida sp 99-125 cells were used as full-cell catalyst. The feasibility of batch and fed-batch esterification using the ABE permeate of pervaporation (ranging from 286.9 g/L to 402.9 g/L) as substrate were compared. Valuable butyl oleate was produced along with ethyl oleate. For the batch esterification, due to severe inhibition of substrate to lipase, the yield of butyl oleate and ethyl oleate were only 24.9% and 3.3%, respectively. In contrast, 75% and 11.8% of butyl oleate and ethyl oleate were obtained, respectively, at the end of the fed-batch esterification. The novel integration process provides a promising strategy for in situ upgrading ABE products., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Glycerol waste from the biodiesel production can be used as a carbon source in the production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) through microbial fermentation. However, downstream processing is a major bottleneck that restricts its biological production. Here, we investigated an environmentally-friendly method to enzymatically separate 1,3-PD. The transformation of 1,3-PD to an ester was achieved by exploiting the esterification reaction with fatty acids under lipase catalysis. The reaction efficiency was optimized using different poly-alcohols that were existed in the fermentation broth reacted with a fatty acid. Whereas the 1,3-PD conversion reached 62%, only a 0.06% and 0.08% conversion was reached for 2,3-butanediol and glycerol, illustrating the former's more efficient separation. The recovery efficiency of 1,3-PD was 96%. Finally, 1,3-PD was obtained by lipase-directed ester hydrolysis. Taken together, the bio-catalyzed separation process presented here is a novel and promising method for recovering 1,3-PD., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

[Display omitted] • The expression of mcMAE promoted the accumulation of β-farnesene. • Expressing mmACL and modulating citrate metabolism enhanced acetyl-CoA supply. • The orthogonal precursor pathways contribute to maximizing β-farnesene production. • An optimized fermentation process resulted a titer of 28.9 g/L of β-farnesene. β-Farnesene is a sesquiterpene commonly found in essential oils of plants, with applications spanning from agricultural pest control and biofuels to industrial chemicals. The use of renewable substrates in microbial cell factories offers a sustainable approach to β-farnesene biosynthesis. In this study, malic enzyme from Mucor circinelloides was examined for NADPH regeneration, concomitant with the augmentation of cytosolic acetyl-CoA supply by expressing ATP-citrate lyase from Mus musculus and manipulating the citrate pathway via AMP deaminase and isocitrate dehydrogenase. Carbon flux was modulated through the elimination of native 6-phosphofructokinase, while the incorporation of an exogenous non-oxidative glycolysis pathway served to bridge the pentose phosphate pathway with the mevalonate pathway. The resulting orthogonal precursor supply pathway facilitated β-farnesene production, reaching 810 mg/L in shake-flask fermentation. Employing optimal fermentation conditions and feeding strategy, a titer of 28.9 g/L of β-farnesene was attained in a 2 L bioreactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation was upgraded in order to improve its economy. Fed-batch fermentation was integrated with two-stage gas stripping-pervaporation unit. The permeated ABE condensate was used as substrate for oleates production. Candida sp. 99–125 cells, being rich in lipase activity, were used as full-cell catalyst. Different ABE feeding strategies in the esterification process were compared. As results, 10.1%, 68.6% and 72.5% of butyl oleate were obtained in the one-step added scenario, the stepwise-added scenario, and the simultaneous fed-batch scenario, respectively. The novel hybrid process was energy-saving, environmentally friendly and profitable, showing promise in future industrialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]