Influence analysis of glycerol in fumaric acid co-fermentation process by Rhizopus arrhizus

Fumaric acid production from industrial waste by microorganism was regarded as an available method. Glycerol as the by-product of biodiesel was a suitable feed stock for fumaric acid production co-fermented with glucose. In this work, the influence of glycerol on the co-fermentation process was explored on the basis of fermentation optimization. It was indicated that the optimum addition level of glycerol was 40 g/L, under which the efficiency of glucose conversion and fumaric acid titer was certainly preferable. After comparing the permeability and fatty acids of the cell membrane, Rhizopus arrhizus cells membrane in co-fermentation process showed a better permeability and a reasonable fatty acids composition, which caused the improvement of fumaric acid emission, leading to the promotion of glucose conversion. Identification of key metabolites combining with feeding strategies was further illustrated the superiority of co-fermentation, which had a potential development advantages in organic acid production process.