Bioconversion of kitchen garbage to lactic acid by two wild strains of Lactobacillus species.

To enhance lactic acid (LA) production from kitchen garbage, which is a raw material for biodegradable plastics production, the application of high-performance lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as inocula was investigated. Two wild strains of Lactobacillus species, designated as TH165 and TD175, were isolated and screened from kitchen garbage. Strain TH165 was capable of hydrolyzing starch to produce LA; 49.5% of starch was broken down in fermentation medium containing 8.52 g/L of soluble starch, and 4.01 g/L of LA was produced after 24 h fermentation at 37 degrees C without pH control. Strain TD175 could produce 16.06 g/L of LA, 66.9% higher than that of Lactobacillus bulgaricus ACCC11058 in fermentation medium containing 2.0% glucose at 30 degrees C without pH control. Furthermore, coinoculation of strains TH165 and TD175 enhanced the LA production, resulting in 33.80 g/L of LA concentration and 0.46 g/g (DW) of LA yield from nonautoclaved kitchen garbage after 72 h fermentation with pH maintained at 5.5-6.0, values 36.9% higher than those of the fermentation without inoculum (control). This study shows that enhancement of LA production from kitchen garbage can be realized by using high-performance LAB. This recycling system is conducive to clear away pollutants and to reduce cost of LA production.