Comparative study of the fermentation of D-glucose/D-xylose mixtures with Pachysolen tannophilus and Candida shehatae

Abstract

We have performed a comparative analysis of the fermentation of the solutions of the mixtures of D-glucose and D-xylose with the yeasts Pachysolen tannophilus (ATCC 32691) and Candida shehatae (ATCC 34887), with the aim of producing bioethanol. All the experiments were performed in a batch bioreactor, with a constant aeration level, temperature of 30 °C, and a culture medium with an initial pH of 4.5. For both yeasts, the comparison was established on the basis of the following parameters: maximum specific growth rate, biomass productivity, specific rate of substrate consumption (qs) and of ethanol production (qE), and overall ethanol and xylitol yields. For the calculation of the specific rates of substrate consumption and ethanol production, differential and integral methods were applied to the kinetic data. From the experimental results, it is deduced that both Candida and Pachysolen sequentially consume the two substrates, first D-glucose and then D-xylose. In both yeasts, the specific substrate-consumption rate diminished over each culture. The values qs and qE proved higher in Candida, although the higher ethanol yield was of the same order for both yeasts, close to 0.4 kg kg−1.