IMPROVING CLOSTRIDIUM FERMENTATION THROUGH CO-CULTURE

Abstract

Biofuels have attracted growing attention due to their sustainable and eco-friendly features. Clostridium acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation is an important process for biofuel production. However, traditional ABE fermentation is facing challenges limiting its development. These challenges include acetone production as a byproduct, butanol toxicity, high oxygen sensitivity, and high substrate cost. To solve these problems, several co-cultures consisting of at least one Clostridium strain and a partner strain have been established. These co-culture systems include a Bacillus-Clostridium co-culture to reduce acetone production, a Clostridium-Clostridium co-culture to facilitate ester production without adding external butyrate, and an E. coli-Clostridium co-culture to upgrade Clostridium fermentation products into more valuable esters from lignocellulosic biomass. The co-cultures developed in this study successfully improved the traditional Clostridium fermentation. The Clostridium co-culture strategy will be a versatile platform to produce advanced chemicals from cheap feedstocks and inspire new and better Clostridium co-culture systems to improve Clostridium fermentation.