Dicarboxylic acid production by fermentation at low pH

摘要

The present invention relates to a process for the production of a dicarboxylic acid. The process comprises fermenting a yeast in the presence of a carbohydrate-containing substrate and low amounts of oxygen at a pH value at which at least 50% of the dicarboxylic acid is in the acid form. The process of the present invention allows for high yields of the dicarboxylic acid product and is more cost-effective than existing processes in which the salt is produced which during recovery has to be converted to the acid. It also leads to a simpler and more convenient downstream processing.

主权项

1. A process for the preparation of succinic acid, comprising: fermenting a yeast in the presence of a carbohydrate-containing substrate and low amounts of oxygen at a pH value which is below the lowest pKa of the succinic acid, wherein the oxygen is supplied at a specific oxygen uptake rate ranging from 8 to 0.2 mmol oxygen/g biomass dry weight/hour, and wherein, in an acid production phase, said process produces more than 10 g/L succinic acid during cultivation for 90 hours.