Impact of Waste as a Substrate on Biomass Formation, and Optimization of Spent Microbial Biomass Re-Use by Sustainable Metabolic Engineering

Biomass residue and waste stream bioconversion is a key pillar for successful transition toward sustainable bioeconomy. Spent microbial biomass (SMB) is a unique type of nutrient-rich residue generated from fermentation. This study addresses the waste–SMB–substrate cycle in fermentation. Data from a...

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Main Authors: Anna Stikane, Matiss Ricards Baumanis, Reinis Muiznieks, Egils Stalidzans
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-05-01
Series:Fermentation
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/9/6/531
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author Anna Stikane
Matiss Ricards Baumanis
Reinis Muiznieks
Egils Stalidzans
author_facet Anna Stikane
Matiss Ricards Baumanis
Reinis Muiznieks
Egils Stalidzans
author_sort Anna Stikane
collection DOAJ
description Biomass residue and waste stream bioconversion is a key pillar for successful transition toward sustainable bioeconomy. Spent microbial biomass (SMB) is a unique type of nutrient-rich residue generated from fermentation. This study addresses the waste–SMB–substrate cycle in fermentation. Data from a range of published fermentation processes using waste and non-waste substrates are analyzed for a variety of fermentation products including alcohols and biofuels, amino acids, polymers (PHA), and organic acids. On average, fermentation of waste substrates produces similar, or up to two–three times higher, amounts of SMB compared to purified substrates. SMB production from waste substrates is further illustrated with data from PHA production. The amino acid composition of SMB from 6 industrially relevant microorganisms is compared and shows relatively low variety (2–8%). The return of SMB as a (co-)substrate in fermentation is then considered by building upon the novel concept of sustainable metabolic engineering (SME). SME incorporates economic, environmental, and social sustainability criteria in its optimization algorithm to select microbial strain designs resulting in the most sustainable products. An example of SME application for SMB amino acid re-use by engineered <i>Escherichia coli</i> is demonstrated and discussed. A design with dual production of succinate and ethanol was found to be the most sustainable.
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spelling doaj.art-9468e5f5a11b4eb4a803b54943d570ad2023-11-18T10:21:03ZengMDPI AGFermentation2311-56372023-05-019653110.3390/fermentation9060531Impact of Waste as a Substrate on Biomass Formation, and Optimization of Spent Microbial Biomass Re-Use by Sustainable Metabolic EngineeringAnna Stikane0Matiss Ricards Baumanis1Reinis Muiznieks2Egils Stalidzans3Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Latvia, Jelgavas Street 1, LV1004 Riga, LatviaInstitute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Latvia, Jelgavas Street 1, LV1004 Riga, LatviaInstitute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Latvia, Jelgavas Street 1, LV1004 Riga, LatviaInstitute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Latvia, Jelgavas Street 1, LV1004 Riga, LatviaBiomass residue and waste stream bioconversion is a key pillar for successful transition toward sustainable bioeconomy. Spent microbial biomass (SMB) is a unique type of nutrient-rich residue generated from fermentation. This study addresses the waste–SMB–substrate cycle in fermentation. Data from a range of published fermentation processes using waste and non-waste substrates are analyzed for a variety of fermentation products including alcohols and biofuels, amino acids, polymers (PHA), and organic acids. On average, fermentation of waste substrates produces similar, or up to two–three times higher, amounts of SMB compared to purified substrates. SMB production from waste substrates is further illustrated with data from PHA production. The amino acid composition of SMB from 6 industrially relevant microorganisms is compared and shows relatively low variety (2–8%). The return of SMB as a (co-)substrate in fermentation is then considered by building upon the novel concept of sustainable metabolic engineering (SME). SME incorporates economic, environmental, and social sustainability criteria in its optimization algorithm to select microbial strain designs resulting in the most sustainable products. An example of SME application for SMB amino acid re-use by engineered <i>Escherichia coli</i> is demonstrated and discussed. A design with dual production of succinate and ethanol was found to be the most sustainable.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/9/6/531bioprocess wastewaste fermentationresource circulationbiomass residuesconstraint-based stoichiometric modelingamino acids
spellingShingle Anna Stikane
Matiss Ricards Baumanis
Reinis Muiznieks
Egils Stalidzans
Impact of Waste as a Substrate on Biomass Formation, and Optimization of Spent Microbial Biomass Re-Use by Sustainable Metabolic Engineering
Fermentation
bioprocess waste
waste fermentation
resource circulation
biomass residues
constraint-based stoichiometric modeling
amino acids
title Impact of Waste as a Substrate on Biomass Formation, and Optimization of Spent Microbial Biomass Re-Use by Sustainable Metabolic Engineering
title_full Impact of Waste as a Substrate on Biomass Formation, and Optimization of Spent Microbial Biomass Re-Use by Sustainable Metabolic Engineering
title_fullStr Impact of Waste as a Substrate on Biomass Formation, and Optimization of Spent Microbial Biomass Re-Use by Sustainable Metabolic Engineering
title_full_unstemmed Impact of Waste as a Substrate on Biomass Formation, and Optimization of Spent Microbial Biomass Re-Use by Sustainable Metabolic Engineering
title_short Impact of Waste as a Substrate on Biomass Formation, and Optimization of Spent Microbial Biomass Re-Use by Sustainable Metabolic Engineering
title_sort impact of waste as a substrate on biomass formation and optimization of spent microbial biomass re use by sustainable metabolic engineering
topic bioprocess waste
waste fermentation
resource circulation
biomass residues
constraint-based stoichiometric modeling
amino acids
url https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/9/6/531
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