Specific project objectives:
- To investigate novel processes for the supply of raw materials from renewable resources, such as unrefined sugars and oils or waste streams, such as molasses, corn steep liquor, fatty acids and glycerol. The latter is to lower the initial raw material costs involved in fermentative biosurfactant production and to ensure a variable feed for sustainable production.
- Develop scientific knowledge and understanding of the interdependencies of the various process parameters and substrate properties to enable a high time-space yield of the fermentative process. This includes optimization of parameters such as pH, temperature and oxygen consumption, feeding strategy (batch and continuous), cell density, consumption of energy and carbon source, process time and cell recycling as well as control of foam formation and product inhibition by development of an in situ product removal process.
- Benchmarking of currently used bio-based surfactants and microbial surface active agents (e.g. mannosylerythritol lipids (MEL), cellobioselipids (CL), trehalose lipids (TL), bioemulsifiers emulsan and liposan) in terms of product performance according to selected applications, physicochemical and stability data, toxicology and process parameters.
- Development and optimization of techniques for emulsification of oils and fatty acids within the bio-reactor for their rapid utilization, and control of foam formation during the fermentation process.
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