Biotechnology of succinic acid production and markets for derived industrial products (original) (raw)

Abstract

Succinic acid, derived from fermentation of agricultural carbohydrates, has a specialty chemical market in industries producing food and pharmaceutical products, surfactants and detergents, green solvents and biodegradable plastics, and ingredients to stimulate animal and plant growth. As a carbon-intermediate chemical, fermentation-derived succinate has the potential to supply over 2.7 × 108 kg industrial products/year including: 1,4-butanediol, tetrahydrofuran, γ-butyrolactone, adipic acid, _n_-methylpyrrolidone and linear aliphatic esters. Succinate yields as high as 110 g/l have been achieved from glucose by the newly discovered rumen organism Actinobacillus succinogenes. Succinate fermentation is a novel process because the greenhouse gas CO2 is fixed into succinate during glucose fermentation. New developments in end-product recovery technology, including water-splitting electrodialysis and liquid/liquid extraction have lowered the cost of succinic acid production to U.S. $ 0.55/kg at the 75 000 tonne/year level and to $ 2.20/kg at the 5000 tonne/year level. Research directions aimed at further improving the succinate fermentation economics are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. MBI International, 3900 Collins Road, Lansing, MI 48910, USA Tel.: +1-517-337-3181 Fax: +1-517-337-2122, , , , , , US
   J. G. Zeikus, M. K. Jain & P. Elankovan

Authors

1. J. G. Zeikus
2. M. K. Jain
3. P. Elankovan

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Received: 27 October 1998 / Received revision: 22 January 1999 / Accepted: 22 January 1999

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Zeikus, J., Jain, M. & Elankovan, P. Biotechnology of succinic acid production and markets for derived industrial products.Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 51, 545–552 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002530051431

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• Issue date: May 1999
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002530051431

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