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    Potential Role of Sequential Solid-State and Submerged-Liquid Fermentations in a Circular Bioeconomy
    (Basel : MDPI, 2021) López-Gómez, José Pablo; Venus, Joachim
    An efficient processing of organic solid residues will be pivotal in the development of the circular bioeconomy. Due to their composition, such residues comprise a great biochemical conversion potential through fermentations. Generally, the carbohydrates and proteins present in the organic wastes cannot be directly metabolized by microorganisms. Thus, before fermentation, enzymes are used in a hydrolysis step to release digestible sugars and nitrogen. Although enzymes can be efficiently produced from organic solid residues in solid-state fermentations (SsF), challenges in the development and scale-up of SsF technologies, especially bioreactors, have hindered a wider application of such systems. Therefore, most of the commercial enzymes are produced in submerged-liquid fermentations (SmF) from expensive simple sugars. Instead of independently evaluating SsF and SmF, the review covers the option of combining them in a sequential process in which, enzymes are firstly produced in SsF and then used for hydrolysis, yielding a suitable medium for SmF. The article reviews experimental work that has demonstrated the feasibility of the process and underlines the benefits that such combination has. Finally, a discussion is included which highlights that, unlike typically perceived, SsF should not be considered a counterpart of SmF but, in contrast, the main advantages of each type of fermentation are accentuated in a synergistic sequential SsF-SmF.
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    Biorefinery Concept Employing Bacillus coagulans: LX-Lignin and L-(+)-Lactic Acid from Lignocellulose
    (Basel : MDPI, 2021) Schroedter, Linda; Streffer, Friedrich; Streffer, Katrin; Unger, Peter; Venus, Joachim
    A new biorefinery concept is proposed that integrates the novel LX-Pretreatment with the fermentative production of L-(+)-lactic acid. Lignocellulose was chosen as a substrate that does not compete with the provision of food or feed. Furthermore, it contains lignin, a promising new chemical building material which is the largest renewable source for aromatic compounds. Two substrates were investigated: rye straw (RS) as a residue from agriculture, as well as the fibrous digestate of an anaerobic biogas plant operated with energy corn (DCS). Besides the prior production of biogas from energy corn, chemically exploitable LX-Lignin was produced from both sources, creating a product with a low carbohydrate and ash content (90.3% and 88.2% of acid insoluble lignin). Regarding the cellulose fraction of the biomass, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation experiments were conducted, comparing a separate (SHF), simultaneous (SSF) and prehydrolyzed simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (PSSF) approach. For this purpose, thermophilic B. coagulans 14-300 was utilized, reaching 38.0 g L−1 LA in 32 h SSF from pretreated RS and 18.3 g L−1 LA in 30 h PSSF from pretreated DCS with optical purities of 99%.