Production of Fumaric Acid From Corn by Fermentation

There are three specific objectives. Once attained, the technology will be ready for pilot plant tests, with commercializatin to follow. 1. The mold that produces fumaric acid from glucose has a tendency to form large pellets. When that happens, oxygen shortage will develop in the pellet center that will make the cells to produce ethanol instead of fumaric acid. An objective is to further test techniques that have been developed and verified in Phase I work to overcome this problem. 2. The second objective is to further test a number of techniques for recovery of fumaric acid from the fermentation broth. Being an acid, its accumulation in the fermentation broth will reduce pH that in turn will inhibit further biological activities. The product acid has to be either neutrilized and/or removed as it is formed by the cells. The tests for this Phase II project are for recovering fumaric acid as a free acid product for potential marketing. 3. The third objective is to collect enough data for supporting future process degin and cost analysis to prepare for pilot plant testing and commercialization.