High-Level production of succinic acid from crude glycerol by a wild type organism

With the transition to the bio-based economy, it is becoming increasingly important for the chemical industry to obtain basic chemicals from renewable raw materials. Succinic acid, one of the most important bio-based building block chemicals, is used in the food and pharmaceutical industries,as well as in the field of bio-based plastics. An alternative process for the bio-based production of succinic acid was the main objective of this study, focusing on the biotechnological production of succinic acid using a newly isolated organism. Pure glycerol compared to crude glycerol, at the lowest purity, directly from a biodiesel plant side stream, was successfully converted. A maximum final titer of 117 g L⁻¹ succinic acid and a yield of 1.3 g g⁻¹ were achieved using pure glycerol and86.9 g L⁻¹ succinic acid and a yield of 0.9 g g⁻¹ using crude glycerol. Finally, the succinic acid was crystallized, achieving maximum yield of 95% and a purity of up to 99%.