Economical Succinic Acid Production from Sugarcane Juice by Actinobacillus succinogenes Supplemented with Corn Steep Liquor and Peanut Meal as Nitrogen Sources

Production of succinic acid by Actinobacillus succinogenes GXAS137 using sugarcane juice as a low-cost carbon source was developed. The optimum substrate concentration, expressed in its glucose content, was 70 g/L. As yeast extract (YE) supplementation is not economically attractive, various nitrogen sources were compared with YE in terms of their efficiency for succinic acid production. When the elemental nitrogen ratio of corn steep liquor power (CSLP) to peanut meal (PM) was 3:1, the succinic acid concentration was 56.88 g/L. The yield is almost the same supplemented with YE. When batch fermentation was carried out in a 1.3 L stirred bioreactor, 57.06 g/L of succinic acid was produced. Fed-batch fermentation was performed to minimize the substrate inhibition effect, producing 62.06 g/L of succinic acid. These results suggest that sugarcane juice supplemented with CSLP and PM as nitrogen sources could be utilized for the economical and efficient production of succinic acid.