| Title |
Butanol as a major product during ethanol and acetate chain elongation |
| ID_Doc |
15459 |
| Authors |
Robles, A; Sundar, SV; Rangan, SM; Delgado, AG |
| Title |
Butanol as a major product during ethanol and acetate chain elongation |
| Year |
2023 |
| Published |
|
| DOI |
10.3389/fbioe.2023.1181983 |
| Abstract |
Chain elongation is a relevant bioprocess in support of a circular economy as it can use a variety of organic feedstocks for production of valuable short and medium chain carboxylates, such as butyrate (C4), caproate (C6), and caprylate (C8). Alcohols, including the biofuel, butanol (C4), can also be generated in chain elongation but the bioreactor conditions that favor butanol production are mainly unknown. In this study we investigated production of butanol (and its precursor butyrate) during ethanol and acetate chain elongation. We used semi-batch bioreactors (0.16 L serum bottles) fed with a range of ethanol concentrations (100-800 mM C), a constant concentration of acetate (50 mM C), and an initial total gas pressure of similar to 112 kPa. We showed that the butanol concentration was positively correlated with the ethanol concentration provided (up to 400mM C ethanol) and to chain elongation activity, which produced H-2 and further increased the total gas pressure. In bioreactors fed with 400mM C ethanol and 50 mM C acetate, a concentration of 114.96 +/- 9.26 mM C butanol (similar to 2.13 g L-1) was achieved after five semi-batch cycles at a total pressure of similar to 170 kPa and H-2 partial pressure of similar to 67 kPa. Bioreactors with 400 mM C ethanol and 50 mM C acetate also yielded a butanol to butyrate molar ratio of 1:1. At the beginning of cycle 8, the total gas pressure was intentionally decreased to similar to 112 kPa to test the dependency of butanol production on total pressure and H-2 partial pressure. The reduction in total pressure decreased the molar ratio of butanol to butyrate to 1:2 and jolted H-2 production out of an apparent stall. Clostridium kluyveri (previously shown to produce butyrate and butanol) and Alistipes (previously linked with butyrate production) were abundant amplicon sequence variants in the bioreactors during the experimental phases, suggesting the microbiome was resilient against changes in bioreactor conditions. The results from this study clearly demonstrate the potential of ethanol and acetate-based chain elongation to yield butanol as a major product. This study also supports the dependency of butanol production on limiting acetate and on high total gas and H2 partial pressures. |
| Author Keywords |
butanol; butyrate; hydrogen partial pressure; carboxylate reduction; Clostridium kluyveri; microbial chain elongation; total gas pressure |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) |
| EID |
WOS:001016682100001 |
| WoS Category |
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology; Engineering, Biomedical |
| Research Area |
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology; Engineering |
| PDF |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1181983/pdf
|