Citric acid production from xylan and xylan hydrolysate by semi-solid culture of Aspergillus niger.

Citric acid production from xylan and xylan hydrolysate was done by Aspergillus niger Yang no. 2 cultivated in a semi-solid culture using bagasse as a carrier. Yang no. 2 produced 72.4 g/l and 52.6 g/l of citric acid in 5 d from 140 g/l of xylose and arabinose, respectively. Yang no. 2 produced 51.6 g/l of citric acid in 3 d from a concentrated xylan hydrolysate prepared by cellulase treatment, containing 100 g/l of reducing sugars. Moreover, Yang no. 2 directly produced 39.6 g/l of citric acid maximally in 3 d from 140 g/l of xylan.