Date of Award
Summer 8-2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Chemical Engineering (MChE)
Department
Chemical Engineering
First Advisor
Reizman, Irene
Second Advisor
Coppinger, J. Peter
Third Advisor
Brandt, Mark
Abstract
This thesis explores the viability of using the yeast Candida viswanathii to convert distillers corn oil, a byproduct of the ethanol industry, into long-chain α,ω-dicarboxylic acids used in lubricants, cosmetics, and biopolymers. Glucose, xylose, and glycerol were used as carbon sources for the determination of growth parameters of this strain, of which it was found that growth on glucose resulted in the highest specific growth rate of 0.482 hr-1 and the lowest biomass yield coefficient of 0.566 - 0.754 g DCW per g substrate on average. A prior developed analytical method for determining feed and product concentrations in fermentation broth using gas chromatography was gradually improved throughout this study. However, it was found that repeatability issues still occurred with the method. The production of diacids was studied with different feedstocks and co-substrates, where it was found that diacid production occurred with all combinations, except methyl oleate and glucose. It was observed that both methyl oleate and oleic acid had solubility issues, which could be further improved within the fermentation broth.
Recommended Citation
Mobley, Jennifer Ann, "Optimization of the Production of Long-Chain Dicarboxylic Acids from Distillers Corn Oil Using Candida viswanathii" (2018). Graduate Theses - Chemical Engineering. 11.
https://scholar.rose-hulman.edu/chemical_engineering_grad_theses/11