ERYTHRITOL PRODUCTION BY Yarrowia lipolytica USING MINIATURIZED FERMENTATION STRATEGIES

It is known that polyol erythritol can be produced from biotechnological glycerol, the main residue of the biodiesel industry. The ease of conducting multiple experiments, reducing reagent costs and speed of analysis make the method of miniaturized fermentation an interesting possibility for research in this field. Considering these factors, the objective of the present study was the production of erythritol by Yarrowia lipolytica IMUFRJ 50682, from a medium containing glycerol as carbon source, using the miniaturized fermentation strategy using Erlenmeyer flasks with a volume of 10 mL containing 4 mL of medium. A concentration of 4.12 g/L, yield of 0.092 g erythritol/g glycerol and productivity of 0.025 g/L.h was reached. Comparing the parameters with experiments conducted in Erlenmeyers of 250 mL (concentration of 20.35 g/L, yield of 0.27 g erythritol/g glycerol and productivity of 0.090 g/L.h), the values were lower. However, the results are promising for the use of the miniaturization strategy for polyol production. Therefore, it was found that it was possible to produce erythritol by yeast Y. lipolytica IMUFRJ 50682 from a miniaturized system, using glycerol as a carbon source.