Abstract
Fumaric acid is a multi-functional bio-based organic acid that is extensively used as a building block compound in chemical synthesis, food preservative and as therapeutics. The substrates required for the production are the sugars that account for 50–60% of the total process economics. The present work explores the utilization of Mahua flowers as a cheaper carbon source and low cost production medium for cost-effective fumaric acid production using Rhizopus oryzae. Various process parameters for fumaric acid production and desired fungal morphology were investigated, including Mahua flower extract concentration, fermentation temperature, fermentation pH and agitation speed. The highest concentration of the product, fumaric acid obtained in shake flask was 23.5 ± 0.9 g/L at optimized conditions of 100 g/L of Mahua flower extract medium, pH 6, 30 ℃ temperature and shaking speed of 200 rpm in 72 h. The pellet morphology resulted in higher production than mycelial clumps. Bench-scale production in stirred tank reactor resulted in 24.1 ± 1.0 g/L of fumaric acid production at an aeration rate of 1 vvm, agitation at 200 rpm and temperature of 30 ℃. The results obtained were comparable to fermentation with pure glucose. The present study evidently reveals the feasibility of carbon-rich, low cost, abundantly available natural substrate for cost-effective fumaric acid production.
Highlights
Fumaric acid (C4H4O4) is a natural organic compound possessing diverse applications in various sectors, including the food industry as an acidulant, as a building block chemical for chemical synthesis and as a therapeutic drug
The outcomes obtained from the submerged fermentation studies under various operating parameters confirmed the microbial production of fumaric acid from the flowers of Maduca latifolia by Rhizopus oryzae NCIM 877
The initial experiments performed to determine the operating conditions for obtaining fungal pellets in the Preculture medium led to the inference that the temperature of 30 °C, pH 6 and shaking speed of 200 rpm was ideal for attaining uniform small-sized morphology
Summary
Fumaric acid (C4H4O4) is a natural organic compound possessing diverse applications in various sectors, including the food industry as an acidulant, as a building block chemical for chemical synthesis and as a therapeutic drug. Fumaric acid is produced both by chemical means and by fermentation. The fumaric acid production by chemical process involves utilizing petrochemical derivative maleic anhydride, but the continued rising of petroleum prices and scarcity has sparked an interest in the production of fumaric acid by microbial fermentation [1]. The study on the microbial production of fumaric acid was reported by Erhlrich using Rhizopus nigricans in 1911. Later various species of molds belonging to Mucor, Rhizopus, Cunninghamella and Circinella were recognized as natural fumaric acid producers [3]. Among these genera, the highest concentration of fumaric acid in terms of product yield and volumetric productivity was obtained from Rhizopus species [2, 4]
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