Nonsterile Lactic Acid Production from Pulse Husks

The production of lactic acid from agricultural by-products has gained significant attention due to its potential for value-added products. This study investigates the feasibility of producing lactic acid from soybean, pea, and faba bean husks through various pretreatment methods and fermentation strategies. Our results show that soybean and pea husks can be effectively converted into lactic acid, with yields of 0.25 g/g and 0.34 g/g, respectively. In contrast, no lactic acid production was observed from faba bean husks, suggesting that this material may be more recalcitrant to degradation. Dilute acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis were found to be effective in releasing significant amounts of sugars from soybean and pea husks, but not from faba bean husks. Our findings provide valuable insights into the potential of agricultural by-products as feedstocks for lactic acid production and highlight the need for further research into the optimization of pretreatment and fermentation strategies.