Augmentation of Bio-butanol Production Through Isolation, Screening and Optimization of Growth and Fermentation Parameters Using Response Surface Methodology

The present study was carried out with the objective of isolation, screening and optimization of hexose fermenting butanologens. A bacterium, NIBE-A1, was isolated and screened for the production of butanol and identified as Clostridium pasteurianum NIBE-A1. The effects of pH and temperature were investigated and optimized through response surface methodology to obtain maximum specific growth rate, mu(max) (h(-1)) and total solvent production (g l(-1)). The optimized constraints such as pH and temperature for growth were found to be 6.5 and 40 degrees C, respectively. The constraints such as pH and temperature for total solvent production were found to be 5.01 and 34.2 degrees C. Under optimized conditions, the total solvent titre of 13.23 +/- 0.14 g l(-1) was obtained with 0.19 +/- 0.08 g g(-1) of butanol yield and 0.28 +/- 0.11 g l(-1) h(-1) of butanol productivity. This study revealed the promising potential of the isolated bacterium for butanol production.