TY - JOUR AU - Abeln, Felix AU - Hicks, Robert H. AU - Auta, Hadiza AU - Moreno-Beltrán, Mauro AU - Longanesi, Luca AU - Henk, Daniel A. AU - Chuck, Christopher J. PY - 2020 DA - 2020/07/16 TI - Semi-continuous pilot-scale microbial oil production with Metschnikowia pulcherrima on starch hydrolysate JO - Biotechnology for Biofuels SP - 127 VL - 13 IS - 1 AB - Heterotrophic microbial oils are potentially a more sustainable alternative to vegetable or fossil oils for food and fuel applications. However, as almost all work in the area is conducted on the laboratory scale, such studies carry limited industrial relevance and do not give a clear indication of what is required to produce an actual industrial process. Metschnikowia pulcherrima is a non-pathogenic industrially promising oleaginous yeast which exhibits numerous advantages for cost-effective lipid production, including a wide substrate uptake, antimicrobial activity and fermentation inhibitor tolerance. In this study, M. pulcherrima was fermented in stirred tank reactors of up to 350 L with 250-L working volume in both batch and semi-continuous operation to highlight the potential industrial relevance. Due to being food-grade, suitable for handling at scale and to demonstrate the oligosaccharide uptake capacity of M. pulcherrima, enzyme-hydrolysed starch in the form of glucose syrup was selected as fermentation feedstock. SN - 1754-6834 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13068-020-01756-2 DO - 10.1186/s13068-020-01756-2 ID - Abeln2020 ER -