Effect of temperature and surfactant on biomass growth and higher-alcohol production during syngas fermentation by Clostridium carboxidivorans P7

Abstract

Hexanol–butanol–ethanol fermentation from syngas by Clostridium carboxidivorans P7 is a promising route for biofuel production. However, bacterial agglomeration in the culture of 37 °C severely hampers the accumulation of biomass and products. To investigate the effect of culture temperature on biomass growth and higher-alcohol production, C. carboxidivorans P7 was cultivated at both constant and two-step temperatures in the range from 25 to 37 °C. Meanwhile, Tween-80 and saponin were screened out from eight surfactants to alleviate agglomeration at 37 °C. The results showed that enhanced higher-alcohol production was contributed mainly by the application of two-step temperature culture rather than the addition of anti-agglomeration surfactants. Furthermore, comparative transcriptome revealed that although 37 °C promoted high expression of genes involved in the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway, genes encoding enzymes catalyzing acyl-condensation reactions associated with higher-alcohol production were highly expressed at 25 °C. This study gained greater insight into temperature-effect mechanism on syngas fermentation by C. carboxidivorans P7.

Keywords

Clostridium carboxidivorans P7 / Higher alcohol / Two-step temperature culture / Surfactant / Comparative transcriptome

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Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China(31630003)

Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality(17JC1404800)

Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(membership 2012213)