Succinic acid production from n ‐alkanes

A novel process of production of succinic acid ( SA ) has been developed, which includes the synthesis of alpha‐ketoglutaric acid by a thiamine‐auxotrophic yeast strain Yarrowia lipolytica VKM Y‐2412 from n ‐alkanes and subsequent oxidation of the acid by hydrogen peroxide to SA . The concentration of SA in the culture broth and its yield were found to be 38.8 g/L and 82.45% of n ‐alkane consumed, respectively. The isolation procedure involved the extraction of the residual alkanes with the mixture of ethyl acetate and hexane, the decomposition of H 2 O 2 in the filtrate followed by filtrate bleaching and acidification with a mineral acid; the evaporation of filtrate and the ethanol extraction of SA from lyophilized residue. The purity of the SA isolated from the culture liquid filtrate reached 99.5%.