(697c) Optimization of a Wild-Type Mesophilic Clostridium Species That Produces Butanol

Optimization of a wild-type mesophilic Clostridium Species that
produces butanol

Fengxue Xin, Sandhi Eko Bramono, and
Jianzhong He*

(*Email: jianzhong.he@nus.edu.sg)

The raising energy demands and
climate changes have stimulated people to look for sustainable energy.  Among the alternatives, bioenergy
generation from sustainable lignocellulosic materials
has received elevating attentions in the industries in order to fulfill the
increasing energy demands.  However,
the low bio-solvents yield remains as a bottleneck, which is tackled in this
study by enhancing the performance of an anaerobic microbe ? Clostridium species strain BOH3.

Here we report the optimization of
a Clostridium species strain BOH3
that is able to ferment simple monosaccharides and
polysaccharides to produce biofuels and fatty acids
at mesophillic conditions.  From 30g/l of glucose and xylose,
batch culture systems of BOH3 were able to produce 4.67g/l and 4.13g/l of biobutanol within 5 days. 
Further treatments such as augmented-inoculation improved biobutanol production to 7.05 and 7.41 g/L from glucose and
xylose. 
Enhancement treatment at high initial butanol
concentrations led to 15 -17 g/L of butanol
generation from glucose.  Solventogenic activities, together with biohydrogen
gas production (2.47 and 1.93 mmol), were also observed
for culture BOH3 when cellulose and xylan (10 g each)
were used as substrates, suggesting that strain BOH3 has acquired xylanolytic and cellulolytic
capabilities and is able to perform fermentation of these complex
polysaccharides.  Therefore, the
wild-type culture BOH3 is promising in generating biobutanol
and biohydrogen from renewable feedstock and has
potential to serve as an important biocatalyst in the bioenergy
industry.