ARS | Publication request: Bioprocesses for Production of Poly(hydroxyalkanoates) and Sophorolipids from Oils, Fats and Coproducts

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: January 30, 2007
Publication Date: March 1, 2007
Citation: Solaiman, D., Ashby, R.D., Zerkowski, J.A., Foglia, T.A., Marmer, W.N. 2007. Bioprocesses for Production of Poly(hydroxyalkanoates) and Sophorolipids from Oils, Fats and Coproducts [abstract]. 4th Annual BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing. p. 41-42.

Technical Abstract: World supply of animal fats and vegetable oils over the past five years has averaged about 130 millions metric tons per year. The majority of these agricultural outputs is used in foods and animal feeds, but an increasing proportion is now channeled to industrial and/or fuel applications. At the same time, the production and utilization of fats and oils generate coproduct streams that need new uses. For example, the processing of soybeans into soy oil and soy proteins yields soy molasses as a coproduct, and the conversion of fats/oils in biodiesel produces the glycerol-rich coproduct stream. There are thus abundant amounts of fats, oils and related coproducts worldwide to support industrial production bioprocesses that will utilize these commodities as feedstocks. One area that warrants in-depth investigation is the use of these materials as feedstocks in white-biotechnological processes to produce microbial polymers and surfactants that are environmentally friendly. In this presentation, we will discuss our work on the bioconversion of agricultural lipids and their coproducts into structurally tailored poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHA) and sophorolipids (SL), and on the subsequent non-biological processing of sophorolipids into industrially useful platform chemicals to expand their potential applications. Our study should pave the way for the future development of integrative biorefineries that manufacture tailor-made bioproducts from agricultural lipids and their coproducts.