title: Volatile fatty acids as an added value from biowaste.
abstract: The aim of the present work was to provide proof of concept of employing a co-culture of K. mobilis and E. coli for producing short and medium chain volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from kitchen biowaste and potato peels. To this aim, experiments were carried out at pilot-scale installation with a bioreactor of 250L. Different feeding strategies were tested under microaerobic conditions, at pH 6.0-6.5 in order to enhance chain elongation. Acetic acid and ethanol were dominating products in the initial stages of the bioprocess, but in a relatively short time of approx. 20-22h from the process start accumulation of propionic acid took place followed by a chain elongation to butyric and valeric acids. The highest final products yield of 325mg/g TS was achieved for the substrate load of 99.1g TS/L (VS of 91.1g/L) and pH 6.5, with the productivity of 448mg/L/h. However, the highest average VFAs chain length (3.77C) was observed in the process run with the loading of 63.2g TS/L and pH 6.0. In this study, we demonstrated that the existing symbiosis of the co-culture of K. mobilis and E. coli favours formation and chain elongation of VFA, induced most likely by the enhanced ethanol formation. Our finding differs from the previous research which focus mostly on anaerobic conditions of VFAs production. The results provide good basis for further optimisation of VFAs production process.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland. Electronic address: emilia.denboer@pwr.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: den Boer
authors.affiliation: Marshall Office of Lower Silesia, Wybrzeże Słowackiego 12-14, 50-411 Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Łukaszewska
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Władysław
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kluczkiewicz
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Daria
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lewandowska
authors.affiliation: Finnoflag Oy, P.O. Box 262, 70101 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: Savonia University of Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 6, FI-70201 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Tero
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reijonen
authors.affiliation: Savonia University of Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 6, FI-70201 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Tero
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuhmonen
authors.affiliation: Savonia University of Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 6, FI-70201 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Anssi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Suhonen
authors.affiliation: Savonia University of Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 6, FI-70201 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Ari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jääskeläinen
authors.affiliation: Finnoflag Oy, P.O. Box 262, 70101 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Anneli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heitto
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Reino
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Laatikainen
authors.affiliation: Finnoflag Oy, P.O. Box 262, 70101 Kuopio, Finland; Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Elias
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hakalehto
mesh_terms: D019342:Acetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D021902:Enterobacter aerogenes / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D005502:Food; D011422:Propionates / Q000378:metabolism; D011198:Solanum tuberosum / Q000737:chemistry; D014866:Waste Products
chemical_list: D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D011422:Propionates; D014866:Waste Products; D000431:Ethanol; C029658:propionic acid; D019342:Acetic Acid
keywords: Bioprocess; Biorefinery; Biowaste; Potato waste; Volatile fatty acids