| Abstrakt: |
Xylitol is a natural polyol with broad applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, its large-scale production through chemical means is still an expensive and not environmentally friendly process. Therefore, great attention has been paid to low-cost and renewable substrates like corn cobs (CC), which can be utilized to improve the economic outlook of xylitol production. In this study, CC were used as a feedstock for xylitol production, with the help of yeasts and filamentous fungi. The results obtained in this study showed that the amount of xylitol produced from CC hydrolysate was similar to the amount of xylitol obtained on xylose substrate. Overall, yeast produced higher amounts of xylitol than filamentous fungi. Pachysolen tannophilus had the highest xylitol production at pH 5.0, 72 h fermentation time, substrate concentration 15%, and inoculum size 1.5×108 cfu mL-1, while Pichia kudriavzevii performed better at pH 5.0, with a 72 h fermentation time, substrate concentration of 20%, and inoculum size of 2.5×108 cfu mL-1. When comparing the combined optimal parameters with and without supplementation, supplementation with 1.5% methanol, has increased the xylitol production of P. tannophilus and P. kudriavzevii by 31% and 18.6%, respectively. These findings demonstrate the robustness of these yeast strains for sustainable and cost-effective xylitol production from CC waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
