Strain evolution and novel downstream processing with integrated catalysis enable highly efficient coproduction of 1,3-propanediol and organic acid esters from crude glycerol.

Chijian Zhang, Shubhang Sharma, Chengwei Ma, An-Ping Zeng

Biotechnology and bioengineering 2022 Jun

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Bioconversion of natural microorganisms generally results in a mixture of various compounds. Downstream processing (DSP) which only targets a single product often lacks economic competitiveness due to incomplete use of raw material and high cost of waste treatment for by-products. Here, we show with the efficient microbial conversion of crude glycerol by an artificially evolved strain and how a catalytic conversion strategy can improve the total products yield and process economy of the DSP. Specifically, Clostridium pasteurianum was first adapted to increased concentration of crude glycerol in a novel automatic laboratory evolution system. At m3 scale bioreactor the strain achieved a simultaneous production of 1,3-propanediol (PDO), acetic and butyric acids at 81.21, 18.72, and 11.09 g/L within only 19 h, respectively, representing the most efficient fermentation of crude glycerol to targeted products. A heterogeneous catalytic step was developed and integrated into the DSP process to obtain high-value methyl esters from acetic and butyric acids at high yields. The coproduction of the esters also greatly simplified the recovery of PDO. For example, a cosmetic grade PDO (96% PDO) was easily obtained by a simple single-stage distillation process (with an overall yield more than 77%). This integrated approach provides an industrially attractive route for the simultaneous production of three appealing products from the crude glycerol fermentation broth, which greatly improve the process economy and ecology. © 2022 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Citation

Chijian Zhang, Shubhang Sharma, Chengwei Ma, An-Ping Zeng. Strain evolution and novel downstream processing with integrated catalysis enable highly efficient coproduction of 1,3-propanediol and organic acid esters from crude glycerol. Biotechnology and bioengineering. 2022 Jun;119(6):1450-1466