Uncoupling Foam Fractionation and Foam Adsorption for Enhanced Biosurfactant Synthesis and Recovery
The production of biosurfactants is often hampered by excessive foaming in the bioreactor, impacting system scale-up and downstream processing. Foam fractionation was proposed to tackle this challenge by combining in situ product removal with a pre-purification step. In previous studies, foam fracti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/12/2029 |
| _version_ | 1797544216380833792 |
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| author | Christian C. Blesken Tessa Strümpfler Till Tiso Lars M. Blank |
| author_facet | Christian C. Blesken Tessa Strümpfler Till Tiso Lars M. Blank |
| author_sort | Christian C. Blesken |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The production of biosurfactants is often hampered by excessive foaming in the bioreactor, impacting system scale-up and downstream processing. Foam fractionation was proposed to tackle this challenge by combining in situ product removal with a pre-purification step. In previous studies, foam fractionation was coupled to bioreactor operation, hence it was operated at suboptimal parameters. Here, we use an external fractionation column to decouple biosurfactant production from foam fractionation, enabling continuous surfactant separation, which is especially suited for system scale-up. As a subsequent product recovery step, continuous foam adsorption was integrated into the process. The configuration is evaluated for rhamnolipid (RL) or 3-(3-hydroxyalkanoyloxy)alkanoic acid (HAA, i.e., RL precursor) production by recombinant non-pathogenic <i>Pseudomonas putida</i> KT2440. Surfactant concentrations of 7.5 g<sub>RL</sub>/L and 2.0 g<sub>HAA</sub>/L were obtained in the fractionated foam. 4.7 g RLs and 2.8 g HAAs could be separated in the 2-stage recovery process within 36 h from a 2 L culture volume. With a culture volume scale-up to 9 L, 16 g RLs were adsorbed, and the space-time yield (STY) increased by 31% to <inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mrow><mn>0.21</mn><mo> </mo><mi mathvariant="normal">g</mi></mrow></mrow><mrow><mi>RL</mi></mrow></msub><mrow><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">L</mi></mrow><mo>·</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">h</mi></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>. We demonstrate a well-performing process design for biosurfactant production and recovery as a contribution to a vital bioeconomy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:57:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8c8d6d1f8ed14b47b12ff647d26a6f62 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:57:17Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-8c8d6d1f8ed14b47b12ff647d26a6f622023-11-21T01:29:37ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072020-12-01812202910.3390/microorganisms8122029Uncoupling Foam Fractionation and Foam Adsorption for Enhanced Biosurfactant Synthesis and RecoveryChristian C. Blesken0Tessa Strümpfler1Till Tiso2Lars M. Blank3iAMB—Institute of Applied Microbiology, ABBt—Aachen Biology and Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyiAMB—Institute of Applied Microbiology, ABBt—Aachen Biology and Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyiAMB—Institute of Applied Microbiology, ABBt—Aachen Biology and Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyiAMB—Institute of Applied Microbiology, ABBt—Aachen Biology and Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyThe production of biosurfactants is often hampered by excessive foaming in the bioreactor, impacting system scale-up and downstream processing. Foam fractionation was proposed to tackle this challenge by combining in situ product removal with a pre-purification step. In previous studies, foam fractionation was coupled to bioreactor operation, hence it was operated at suboptimal parameters. Here, we use an external fractionation column to decouple biosurfactant production from foam fractionation, enabling continuous surfactant separation, which is especially suited for system scale-up. As a subsequent product recovery step, continuous foam adsorption was integrated into the process. The configuration is evaluated for rhamnolipid (RL) or 3-(3-hydroxyalkanoyloxy)alkanoic acid (HAA, i.e., RL precursor) production by recombinant non-pathogenic <i>Pseudomonas putida</i> KT2440. Surfactant concentrations of 7.5 g<sub>RL</sub>/L and 2.0 g<sub>HAA</sub>/L were obtained in the fractionated foam. 4.7 g RLs and 2.8 g HAAs could be separated in the 2-stage recovery process within 36 h from a 2 L culture volume. With a culture volume scale-up to 9 L, 16 g RLs were adsorbed, and the space-time yield (STY) increased by 31% to <inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mrow><mn>0.21</mn><mo> </mo><mi mathvariant="normal">g</mi></mrow></mrow><mrow><mi>RL</mi></mrow></msub><mrow><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">L</mi></mrow><mo>·</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">h</mi></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>. We demonstrate a well-performing process design for biosurfactant production and recovery as a contribution to a vital bioeconomy.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/12/2029biosurfactantrhamnolipid3-(3-hydroxyalkanoyloxy)alkanoic acid (HAA)integrated product recoveryfoam fractionationfoam adsorption |
| spellingShingle | Christian C. Blesken Tessa Strümpfler Till Tiso Lars M. Blank Uncoupling Foam Fractionation and Foam Adsorption for Enhanced Biosurfactant Synthesis and Recovery Microorganisms biosurfactant rhamnolipid 3-(3-hydroxyalkanoyloxy)alkanoic acid (HAA) integrated product recovery foam fractionation foam adsorption |
| title | Uncoupling Foam Fractionation and Foam Adsorption for Enhanced Biosurfactant Synthesis and Recovery |
| title_full | Uncoupling Foam Fractionation and Foam Adsorption for Enhanced Biosurfactant Synthesis and Recovery |
| title_fullStr | Uncoupling Foam Fractionation and Foam Adsorption for Enhanced Biosurfactant Synthesis and Recovery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Uncoupling Foam Fractionation and Foam Adsorption for Enhanced Biosurfactant Synthesis and Recovery |
| title_short | Uncoupling Foam Fractionation and Foam Adsorption for Enhanced Biosurfactant Synthesis and Recovery |
| title_sort | uncoupling foam fractionation and foam adsorption for enhanced biosurfactant synthesis and recovery |
| topic | biosurfactant rhamnolipid 3-(3-hydroxyalkanoyloxy)alkanoic acid (HAA) integrated product recovery foam fractionation foam adsorption |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/12/2029 |
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