Attempts at improving citric acid fermentation by Aspergillus niger in beet-molasses medium.

Natural oils with high unsaturated fatty acids content when added at concentrations of 2% and 4% (v/v) to beet molasses (BM) medium caused a considerable increase in citric acid yield from Aspergillus niger. The fermentation capacities were also examined for production of citric acid using BM-oil media under different fermentation conditions. Maximum citric acid yield was achieved in surface culture in the presence of 4% olive oil after 12 days incubation.