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Calorespirometric feeding control enhances bioproduction from toxic feedstocks—Demonstration for biopolymer production out of methanol
Author(s) -
Rohde MariaTeresa,
Paufler Sven,
Harms Hauke,
Maskow Thomas
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.25986
Subject(s) - bioproduction , biopolymer , methanol , chemistry , production (economics) , biochemical engineering , microbiology and biotechnology , pulp and paper industry , biology , organic chemistry , engineering , economics , polymer , macroeconomics
The sustainable production of fuels and industrial bulk chemicals by microorganisms in biotechnological processes is promising but still facing various challenges. In particular, toxic substrates require an efficient process control strategy. Methanol, as an example, has the potential to become a major future feedstock due to its availability from fossil and renewable resources. However, besides being toxic, methanol is highly volatile. To optimize its dosage during microbial cultivations, an innovative, predictive process control strategy based on calorespirometry, i.e., simultaneous measurements of heat and CO 2 emission rates, was developed. This rarely used technique allows an online‐estimation of growth parameters such as the specific growth rate and substrate consumption rate as well as a detection of shifts in microbial metabolism thus enabling an adapted feeding for different phases of growth. The calorespirometric control strategy is demonstrated exemplarily for growth of the methylotrophic bacterium Methylobacterium extorquens on methanol and compared to alternative control strategies. Applying the new approach, the methanol concentration could be maintained far below a critical limit, while increased growth rates of M. extorquens and higher final contents of the biopolymer polyhydroxybutyrate were obtained. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 2113–2121. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.