Citric acid production by Candida species grown on a soy-based crude glycerol.

Citric acid was produced by five species of the yeast Candida after growth on a medium containing soy biodiesel-based crude glycerol. After growth on a medium containing 10 g L(-1) or 60 g L(-1) crude glycerol for 168 hr at 30°C, Candida parapsilosis ATCC 7330 and C. guilliermondii ATCC 9058 produced the highest citric acid levels. On 10 g L(-1) or 60 g L(-1) crude glycerol for 168 hr at 30°C, the citric acid level produced by C. parapsilosis ATCC 7330 was 1.8 g L(-1) or 11.3 g L(-1), respectively, while C. guilliermondii ATCC 9058 produced citric acid concentrations of 3.0 g L(-1) or 10.4 g L(-1), respectively. Biomass production by C. guilliermondii ATCC 9058 on 10 g L(-1) or 60 g L(-1) crude glycerol for 168 hr at 30°C was highest at 1.2 g L(-1) or 6.9 g L(-1), respectively. The citric acid yields observed for C. guilliermondii ATCC 9058 after growth on 10 g L(-1) or 60 g L(-1) crude glycerol (0.35 g g(-1) or 0.21 g g(-1), respectively) were generally higher than for the other Candida species tested. When similar crude glycerol concentrations were present in the culture medium, citric acid yields observed for some of the Candida species utilized in this study were about the same or higher compared to citric acid yields by Yarrowia lipolytica strains. Based on the findings, it appeared that C. guilliermondii ATCC 9058 was the most effective species utilized, with its citric acid production being similar to what has been observed when citric acid-producing strains of Y. lipolytica were grown on crude glycerol under batch conditions that could be of significance to biobased citric acid production.