Monday, August 13, 2012
Columbia Hall, Terrace Level (Washington Hilton)
S. Sato, H. Habe, D. Kitamoto and K. Sakaki, Research Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Chemistry, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
In the process of producing biodiesel fuel (BDF) from vegetable oils, approximately 10 wt% of glycerol is produced as a by-product. The total amount of glycerol produced worldwide is estimated to be around a million tons a year, and therefore, an effective use for this surplus glycerol has long been sought. However, raw glycerol derived from BDF production has diverse properties depending on kinds of triacylglycerols used as raw material, reaction condition, and manufacturing processes. Conventional method to produce BDF is alcolysis of triacylglycerol with methanol under alkali condition, and this method needs excess methanol for effective production of BDF. This makes raw glycerol contain methanol.
We have developed a technique to effectively produce D-glyceric acid (D-GA) from glycerol. Although D-GA and its derivatives have excellent biological functions, including an action to accelerate alcohol metabolism, they are expensive because industrial methods have not been established for their production. If they can be produced at low cost, wide uses will be expected, including raw materials for chemical products such as bioplastics, pharmaceuticals for alcohol metabolism acceleration or liver disease treatment, and raw materials for cosmetics.
In this study, effect of methanol supplementation on D-GA production by Gluconobacter frateurii NBRC103465 was investigated aiming effective utilization of raw glycerol containing methanol. Transcriptome analysis of G. frateurii cultured with supplementation of model raw glycerol solution revealed stress responses of the cells to methanol.
