Feasibility of Efficient, Direct, Butanol Production from Food Waste without Nutrient Supplement by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4

Abstract

This study investigated the feasibility of direct butanol production from starchy food waste (without saccharification and nutrient supplementation). First, Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 was selected as an efficient starch-utilizing clostridia, and amylose was used by the strain more readily than amylopectin for solvent production. Furthermore, direct fermentation avoided substrate inhibition due to saccharification and produced 12.1 g/L of butanol at a production rate of 0.705 g/L/h and a yield of 0.402 C-mol/C-mol with a solid–liquid ratio of 1:1 (w/v). At a solid–liquid ratio of 1:2 (w/v), the maximum butanol production rate in the direct mode was 2.05 times higher than that in the saccharified mode. Elemental analysis demonstrated that the food waste analyzed was rich in trace elements and, hence, exogenous nutrient supplementation was unnecessary. Collectively, direct butanol production from food waste could function as a low-cost, highly efficient, and simple fermentative process, which is a promising strategy for food waste disposal.