Hwa-Won Ryu

Lactic acid production by Lactobacillus sp. RKY2 in a cell-recycle continuous fermentation using lignocellulosic hydrolyzates as inexpensive raw materials.

Continuous lactic acid fermentations were conducted using lignocellulosic hydrolyzates and corn steep liquor as inexpensive raw materials. Lactic acid concentrations decreased with increases in the dilution rate, whereas the residual substrate concentrations increased. However, lactic acid yields were maintained at more than 0.90 g g(-1) over all cases experimented. The cell-recycle cultivation system exerted positive effects on fermentation efficiency, including volumetric productivity, which is attributable to the retention of cells in the bioreactor. The cell-recycle continuous fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolyzates yielded a lactic acid productivity of 6.7 g l(-1) h(-1) for a dilution rate of 0.16 h(-1) using 30 g l(-1) of corn steep liquor and 1.5 g l(-1) of yeast extract as nutrients. The productivity (6.7 g l(-1) h(-1)) acquired by the cell-recycle continuous fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolyzates was 1.6 times higher than the lactic acid productivity yielded in the continuous fermentation without cell-recycle system.

Production of bacterial cellulose by Gluconacetobacter sp. RKY5 isolated from persimmon vinegar.

The optimum fermentation medium for the production of bacterial cellulose (BC) by a newly isolated Gluconacetobacter sp. RKY5 was investigated. The optimized medium composition for cellulose production was determined to be 15 g/L glycerol, 8 g/L yeast extract, 3 g/L K2HPO4, and 3 g/L acetic acid. Under these optimized culture medium, Gluconacetobacter sp. RKY5 produced 5.63 g/L of BC after 144 h of shaken culture, although 4.59 g/L of BC was produced after 144 h of static culture. The amount of BC produced by Gluconacetobacter sp. RKY5 was more than 2 times in the optimized medium found in this study than in a standard Hestrin and Shramm medium, which was generally used for the cultivation of BC-producing organisms.

Production of Lactic Acid From Cheese Whey by Batch and Repeated Batch Cultures of Lactobacillus sp. RKY2

The fermentative production of lactic acid from cheese whey and corn steep liquor (CSL) as cheap raw materials was investigated by using Lactobacillus sp. RKY2 in order to develop a cost-effective fermentation medium. Lactic acid yields based on consumed lactose were obtained at more than 0.98 g/g from the medium containing whey lactose. Lactic acid productivities and yields obtained from whey lactose medium were slightly higher than those obtained from pure lactose medium. The lactic acid productivity gradually decreased with increase in substrate concentration owing to substrate and product inhibitions. The fermentation efficiencies were improved by the addition of more CSL to the medium. Moreover, through the cell-recycle repeated batch fermentation, lactic acid productivity was maximized to 6.34 g/L/h, which was 6.2 times higher than that of the batch fermentation.

Influences of cultural medium component on the production of poly(γ-glutamic acid) byBacillus sp. RKY3

In this study, the cultural medium used for the efficient production of γ-PGA with a newly isolatedBacillus sp. RKY3 was optimized. It was necessary to supplement the culture medium withl-glutamic acid and an additional carbon source in order to induce the effective production of γ-PGA. The amount of γ-PGA increased with the addition ofl-glutamic acid to the medium. The addition of 90 g/Ll-glutamic acid to the medium resulted in the maximal yield of γ-PGA (83.2 g/L). The optimum nitrogen source was determined to be peptone, but corn steep liquor, a cheap nutrient, was also found to be effective for γ-PGA production. Both the γ-PGA production and cell growth increased rapidly with the addition of small amounts of K2HPO4 and MgSO4·7H2O.Bacillus sp. RKY3 appears to require Mg2+, rather than Mn2+, for γ-PGA production, which is distinct from the production protocols associated with other, previously reported bacteria.Bacillus sp. RKY3 may also have contributed some minor γ-PGA depolymerase activity, resulting in the reduction of the molecular weight of the produced γ-PGA at the end of fermentation.

Lactic acid production through cell-recycle repeated-batch bioreactor

The effect of various nitrogen sources on cell growth and lactic acid production was investigated. The most effective nitrogen source was yeast extract; more yeast extract gave higher cell growth and lactic acid productivity. Yeast extract dosage and cell growth were proportional up to a yeast extract concentration of 30 g/L, and lactic acid productivity was linearly correlated up to a yeast extract dosage of 25 g/L. However, increasing the yeast extract content raises the total production cost of lactic acid. Therefore, we attempted to find the optimum yeast extract dosage for a repeated-batch operation with cell recycling. The results show that when using Enterococcus faecalis RKY1 only 26% of the yeast extract dosage for a conventional batch fermentation was sufficient to produce the same amount of lactic acid, whereas the lactic acid concentration in the product stream (92–94 g/L) and lactic acid productivity (6.03–6.20 g/[L·h]) were similar to those of a batch operation. Furthermore, long-term stability was established.

The statistically optimized production of poly(γ-glutamic acid) by batch fermentation of a newly isolated Bacillus subtilis RKY3

For the production of poly(gamma-glutamic acid), a newly isolated Bacillus sp. RKY3 was phylogenetically identified as Bacillus subtilis based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence. The culture medium for the production of poly(gamma-glutamic acid) by B. subtilis RKY3 was optimized statistically. The parameters significantly affecting poly(gamma-glutamic acid) production were found to be glycerol, glutamic acid, yeast extract, and K(2)HPO(4). A further advanced statistical approach, central composite design, found the optimum levels of the screened variables as follows (gl(-1)): glycerol 17.6, glutamic acid 59.6; yeast extract 2.7; K(2)HPO(4) 2.3. The predicted response as poly(gamma-glutamic acid) production under the statistically optimized conditions was 48.5 g l(-1), which was only 0.4% different from the maximum poly(gamma-glutamic acid) concentration (48.7 g l(-1)) observed at the validation experiment using 7-l lab-scale fermentor containing 3 l of working volume.

Factors affecting the characteristics of melamine resin microcapsules containing fragrant oils

Microcapsules containing fragrant oils as a core material were prepared byin situ polymerization, using melamine-formaldehyde prepolymer as the wall material. The several parameters, such as stirring times, stirring rates, emulsifier types, emulsifier concentrations, and the viscosity of the core materials, affect the characteristics of the microcapsules. These parameters were investigated by the analyses of microcapsule size, particle size distribution, and morphology. The average microcapsule size decreased with an increase in stirring time, stirring rate, emulsifier concentration, and viscosity of the core material. It was also found that poly(vinyl alcohol) as a protective colloid could enhance the stability of the melamine-formaldehyde microcapsules.

Production of antioxidant compounds by culture of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer hairy roots: I. Enhanced production of secondary metabolite in hairy root cultures by elicitation.

Ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) hairy root cultures, established by infecting ginseng root discs with Agrobacterium rhizogenes, were used for secondary metabolite production. In this study, several elicitors [salicylic acid (SA), acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), yeast elicitor, and bacterial elicitor] were used to improve the productivity of useful metabolite in P. ginseng hairy root cultures. In SA elicitation, total ginseng saponin content increased slightly at lower elicitor dosages (0.1 to 0.5 mM). Also, the use of ASA as an elicitor resulted in the inhibition of biomass growth and an increase in total ginseng saponin content at every elicitor dosage (0.1 to 1.0 mM) by about 1.1 times. With yeast elicitor addition, hairy root growth was inhibited about 0.8-fold on a dry weight basis compared to the control, but total ginseng saponin content increased by about 1.17 times when compared to the control. The bacterial elicitor showed a slight inhibition of biomass growth, but total ginseng saponin content increased by about 1.23 times upon the addition of 1 mL.

Lactic acid production and carbon catabolite repression from single and mixed sugars using Enterococcus faecalis RKY1

Abstract Enterococcus faecalis RKY1, a newly isolated lactic acid bacterium, efficiently metabolized glucose, fructose, and maltose to lactic acid by the homolactic fermentation pathway through Embden-Meyerhof glycolysis. During lactic acid fermentation with glucose, fructose, or maltose as a sole carbon source, the average volumetric productivities were 3.56, 4.12, and 3.54 g/litre/h with final lactic acid concentrations of 139, 144, and 138 g/litre, respectively. Furthermore, for the lactic acid fermentations with glucose/fructose, glucose/maltose, and fructose/maltose mixtures as carbon sources, Enterococcus faecalis RKY1 grown on a mixture of glucose/fructose simultaneously consumed these sugars, and the cell growth and average volumetric productivity were higher than when grown on the individual sugars. However, it preferentially metabolized the glucose and fructose in the glucose/maltose and fructose/maltose mixtures. Therefore, carbon catabolite repression on its maltose metabolism was triggered by these preferentially metabolized sugars.

Bacterial cellulose production by Gluconacetobacter sp. PKY5 in a rotary biofilm contactor.

A rotary biofilm contactor (RBC) inoculated with Gluconacetobacter sp. RKY5 was used as a bioreactor for improved bacterial cellulose production. The optimal number of disk for bacterial cellulose production was found to be eight, at which bacterial cellulose and cell concentrations were 5.52 and 4.98 g/L. When the aeration rate was maintained at 1.25 vvm, bacterial cellulose and cell concentrations were maximized (5.67 and 5.25 g/L, respectively). The optimal rotation speed of impeller in RBC was 15 rpm. When the culture pH in RBC was not controlled during fermentation, the maximal amount of bacterial cellulose (5.53 g/L) and cells (4.91 g/L) was obtained. Under the optimized culture conditions, bacterial cellulose and cell concentrations in RBC reached to 6.17 and 5.58 g/L, respectively.