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High-rate continuous n -butanol production by Clostridium acetobutylicum from glucose and butyric acid in a single-pass fibrous bed bioreactor
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  • Wei-Lun Chang,
  • Wenjie Hou,
  • Mengmeng Xu,
  • Shang-Tian Yang
Wei-Lun Chang
The Ohio State University William G Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Corresponding Author:weilunchang.osu@gmail.com

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Wenjie Hou
The Ohio State University William G Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
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Mengmeng Xu
The Ohio State University William G Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
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Shang-Tian Yang
The Ohio State University William G Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
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Abstract

Biobutanol produced in acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation at batch mode cannot compete with chemically derived butanol because of the low reactor productivity. Continuous fermentation can dramatically enhance productivity and lower capital and operating costs but are rarely used in industrial fermentation because of increased risks in culture degeneration, cell washout, and contamination. In this study, cells of the asporogenous Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC55025 were immobilized in a single-pass fibrous-bed bioreactor (FBB) for continuous production of butanol from glucose and butyrate at various dilution rates. Butyric acid in the feed medium helped maintaining cells in the solventogenic phase for stable continuous butanol production. At the dilution rate of 1.88 h -1, butanol was produced at 9.55 g/L with a yield of 0.24 g/g and productivity of 16.8 g/L∙h, which was the highest ever achieved for biobutanol fermentation and an 80-fold improvement over the conventional ABE fermentation. The extremely high productivity was attributed to the high density of viable cells (~100 g/L at >70% viability) immobilized in the fibrous matrix, which also enabled the cells to better tolerate butanol and butyric acid. The FBB was stable for continuous operation for an extended period of over one month.
07 Jul 2022Submitted to Biotechnology and Bioengineering
07 Jul 2022Submission Checks Completed
07 Jul 2022Assigned to Editor
10 Jul 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
13 Aug 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
13 Aug 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Major
16 Aug 20221st Revision Received
16 Aug 2022Submission Checks Completed
16 Aug 2022Assigned to Editor
22 Aug 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
01 Sep 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
01 Sep 2022Editorial Decision: Accept
04 Sep 2022Published in Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 10.1002/bit.28223