BUTANOL PRODUCTION FROM GLYCEROL BY Clostridium pasteurianum IN DEFINED CULTURE MEDIA- A PHENOTYPIC APPROACH

Title of Document: BUTANOL PRODUCTION FROM GLYCEROL BY Clostridium pasteurianum IN DEFINED CULTURE MEDIAA PHENOTYPIC APPROACH. David Leonardo Ramos Sanchez, Master of Science, 2009 Directed By: Associate Professor Nam Sun Wang Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering ABSTRACT The fluctuations in oil prices have stimulated the production of renewable biofuels, in particular the production of bioethanol and biodiesel. The production of biodiesel has expanded almost six fold in the past years. The ten wt% of the biodiesel process results in crude glycerol. Once a valuable product, nowadays glycerol is considered a waste and a surplus material. Its current low price makes it an attractive substrate for a fermentation process. Molecular genetics have unveiled new insights about solvent production in Clostridia. It has been recognized that endospore development and solvent formation share a regulatory mechanism. The solvent production, particularly the butanol fermentation of glycerol by Clostridium pasteurianum was studied. Taking advantage of the characteristics of the sporulation phenotype, the study of the butanol fermentationThe fluctuations in oil prices have stimulated the production of renewable biofuels, in particular the production of bioethanol and biodiesel. The production of biodiesel has expanded almost six fold in the past years. The ten wt% of the biodiesel process results in crude glycerol. Once a valuable product, nowadays glycerol is considered a waste and a surplus material. Its current low price makes it an attractive substrate for a fermentation process. Molecular genetics have unveiled new insights about solvent production in Clostridia. It has been recognized that endospore development and solvent formation share a regulatory mechanism. The solvent production, particularly the butanol fermentation of glycerol by Clostridium pasteurianum was studied. Taking advantage of the characteristics of the sporulation phenotype, the study of the butanol fermentation was approached. A relation between spore formation and butanol production was found in C. pasteurianum by applying molecular genetics concepts.