Evaluating lactic acid fermentation from lignocellulosic biomass

工业合作伙伴Jungbunzlauer是世界领先的天然生物降解原料生产商之一。特别是它生产有机酸，主要用于安大略省南部和全球的工厂食品工业。酸的生产是通过葡萄糖发酵进行的，Jungbunzlauer有兴趣将原料来源多样化，转向从木质纤维素生物质中提取糖。如果成功，它将降低公司的生产成本，为加拿大农民带来额外收入，并提高安大略省的先进制造能力。木质纤维素生物质需要预处理以释放可发酵的糖。这种预处理通常会产生副作用和产生不需要的副产物。这些副产品的组成和分布取决于所使用的生物质类型和预处理技术。许多人都知道副产品对发酵生物有抑制作用，目前的研究主要集中在预处理技术与产乙醇酵母的相容性上。然而，Jungbunzlauer使用的微生物菌株在生理上有很大的不同，对抑制鸡尾酒的反应也不同。该项目旨在评估替代菌株（由Jungbunzlauer选择）对典型发酵抑制剂的复杂混合物的反应。统计实验设计和响应面方法将与Rehmann博士实验室建立的乙醇生产酵母的高通量筛选相结合。该项目的结果将使Jungbunzlauer能够预测潜在的木质纤维素糖流与发酵生物的兼容性，从而在选择下一代工业合作伙伴时也起到决策作用

The industrial partner, Jungbunzlauer, is one of the world's leading producers of biodegradable ingredients of natural origin. Particularly it manufactures organic acids, largely for the food industry in plants, in southern Ontario and globally. The acid production occurs via fermentation of glucose and Jungbunzlauer is interested in diversifying their source of feedstock towards sugars derived from lignocellulosic biomass. If successful it could lower production costs of the company, generate additional revenues for Canadian farmers and increase advanced manufacturing capabilities in Ontario. Lignocellulosic biomass requires pretreatment in order to release fermentable sugars. Such pre-treatment typically suffers from side-reactions and the formation of unwanted by-products. The composition and distribution of such by-products carries based on the type of biomass ad pre-treatment technology that was used. Many know by-products are inhibitory to fermenting organisms and current research largely focusses on the compatibility of pre-treatment technologies with ethanol producing yeasts. However microbial the strains used by Jungbunzlauer are physiologically very different and will react different to the inhibitory cocktails. The project aims to evaluate the response of a surrogate strain (selected by Jungbunzlauer) to a complex mixture of typical fermentation inhibitors. Statistical experimental design and response surface methodology will be used in combination with high-throughput screening as established in Dr. Rehmann's lab for ethanol producing yeasts. The results from this project will enable Jungbunzlauer to predict the compatibility of potential lignocelulosic sugar streams with fermenting organisms and hence function as a decision making too when selecting industrial partner for the next generation of lignocellulosic organic acid production plants.