Biotechnische Itaconsäureproduktion (English shop)

Nutzung nachwachsender Rohstoffe und Prozessoptimierung

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Biotechnologically produced itaconic acid is an important platform building block for the chemical industry and, owing to its chemical structure, offers a broad range of applications. The unsaturated dicarboxylic acid can be used, for example, as a bio-based polymer in resins, which today are largely based on fossil raw materials. On the one hand, the challenge in itaconic acid production lies in using low-cost renewable raw materials, such as wheat chaff hydrolysate, in the fermentation process. On the other hand, the itaconic acid titre achieved with Aspergillus terreus and glucose as substrate must be increased, since itaconic acid-based products are still niche products due to the low titres attained industrially. This work presents a process strategy for using wheat chaff for itaconic acid production with the sensitive filamentous fungus A. terreus. In addition, influencing factors of the hydrolysate are identified that affect the growth of A. terreus and the production of itaconic acid. Furthermore, in fermentation with glucose the titre was markedly increased by raising the pH value during the production phase. This process optimisation with a wild-type strain of A. terreus resulted in a final concentration in the range of the established citric acid production.