Current Prospects on Production of Microbial Lipid and Other Value-Added Products Using Crude Glycerol Obtained from Bio
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Current Prospects on Production of Microbial Lipid and Other Value-Added Products Using Crude Glycerol Obtained from Biodiesel Industries Bijaya K. Uprety 1 & Balaji Venkatesagowda 2 & Sudip K. Rakshit 1,2,3
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2017
Abstract Production of microbial lipids using crude glycerol from the biodiesel industry is reviewed in this paper. Approximately 10 wt.% of crude glycerol is obtained for every batch of biodiesel. The crude glycerol accumulated contains various impurities and hence cannot be used for any commercial applications without further purification. Its conversion via biological and chemical routes into valuable products has been studied by different researchers. Varieties of fungal, yeasts, and algal species have been used to produce microbial lipids from crude glycerol. However, research focus on screening a robust industrial oleaginous strain capable of doing this is still on-going. Due to its chemical similarity to vegetable oils, microbial lipids are considered a potential renewable feedstock for biodiesel production and for applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. Its conversion to polyols and subsequently to biobased polymers is also being explored. The rising price of vegetable oils, increasing energy demands, growing environmental concerns, and availability of crude glycerol as a cheap carbon substrate result in considerable potential for the application of these processes in the future.
Keywords Crude glycerol . Microbial oil . Biodiesel industry . Oleaginous microbes . Value-added products . Commercial application of microbial lipid * Sudip K. Rakshit [email protected] 1
Department of Biotechnology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada
2
Biorefining Research Institute, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada
3
Department of Chemical Engineering, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada
Introduction There has been considerable research focus on the conversion of biomass to biofuels and chemicals. It addresses various issues related to climate change mitigation and the use of fossil resources. Some of the problems associated with the use of nonrenewable fossil resources include its fluctuating prices, depletion of reserves, production of greenhouse gases, and geo-political wars [1–3]. Biodiesel is a renewable clean form of energy which can contribute to the alternate energy mix of the future. Conventionally, biodiesel is obtained by transesterification of vegetable oils. Approximately 10 wt.% of glycerol is produced as a by-product during this process. The glycerol obtained during the biodiesel production process is also known as crude glycerol [2]. It contains various types of impurities and has low commercial value without purification. Pure glycerol has numerous applications in varieties of sectors including pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries [3–5]. However, with the rapid rise in biodiesel production, and the resultant glut in crude glycerol, the prices of both forms of glycerol (crude and pure) have decreased c
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