11-47: Investigating factors affecting butanol production by Clostridium pasteurianum

There is a great advantage to use biodiesel-derived glycerol for the various chemical productions from economical and environmental standpoints as increasing biodiesel production has resulted in a large supply of glycerol at a much lower price. In this study, effects of glycerol concentration, butanol concentration and co-substrate such as butyrate and acetate were investigated with Clostridium pasteurianum DSM525, which is known to convert glycerol to butanol and 1,3-propanediol(1,3-PD). Glycerol concentration higher than 60 g/L inhibited cell growth and butanol production. When more than 8 g/L of butanol concentraion was added initially, C. pateurianum DSM525 did not grow at all. The addition of butyrate was found to enhance butanol production by more than 50% than that without butyrate addition, while there was no significant effect of acetate on butanol production. Unlike other butanol-producing species, C. pateurianum DSM525 was not degenerated after an extended subculturing for more than 50 days.