The role of lipids in fermentative propionate production from the co-fermentation of lipid and food waste

Highlights

● Lipid can promote PA production on a target from food waste.

● PA productivity reached 6.23 g/(L∙d) from co-fermentation of lipid and food waste.

● Lipid promoted the hydrolysis and utilization of protein in food waste.

● Prevotella , Veillonella and norank _f _Propioni bacteriaceae were enriched.

● Main pathway of PA production was the succinate pathway.

Abstract

Food waste (FW) is a promising renewable low-cost biomass substrate for enhancing the economic feasibility of fermentative propionate production. Although lipids, a common component of food waste, can be used as a carbon source to enhance the production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) during co-fermentation, few studies have evaluated the potential for directional propionate production from the co-fermentation of lipids and FW. In this study, co-fermentation experiments were conducted using different combinations of lipids and FW for VFA production. The contributions of lipids and FW to propionate production, hydrolysis of substrates, and microbial composition during co-fermentation were evaluated. The results revealed that lipids shifted the fermentation type of FW from butyric to propionic acid fermentation. Based on the estimated propionate production kinetic parameters, the maximum propionate productivity increased significantly with an increase in lipid content, reaching 6.23 g propionate/(L∙d) at a lipid content of 50%. Propionate-producing bacteria Prevotella, Veillonella, and norank_f_Propionibacteriaceae were enriched in the presence of lipids, and the succinate pathway was identified as a prominent fermentation route for propionate production. Moreover, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes functional annotation revealed that the expression of functional genes associated with amino acid metabolism was enhanced by the presence of lipids. Collectively, these findings will contribute to gaining a better understanding of targeted propionate production from FW.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Acidogenic fermentation / Microbial community / Volatile fatty acid / Propionate / Food waste / Lipid

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51778580 and 51878611) for providing financial support for this project.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1686-0 and is accessible for authorized users.

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