Candida Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Candida, including details on thrush infections, yeast, diet, treatment, symptoms.

Production of ethanol from starch by free and immobilized Candida tropicalis in the presence of alpha-amylase.

Jamai L, Ettayebi K, El Yamani J, Ettayebi M

Biotechnology Units, SMBA University, P.O. Box 1796 Atlas, Fez, Morocco.

Candida tropicalis is a potentially useful organism for the commercial production of ethanol as it is capable of fermenting starch at a low rate. To enhance this carbon source utilization and increase the rate of alcohol production, we pretreated corn soluble starch with alpha-amylase. Starch liquefaction was sufficient to drive the fermentation and to convert 96% substrate to ethanol. Indeed, in the presence of exogenous alpha-amylase, 9% (w/v) soluble starch was converted to 43.1g ethanol/l in 65 h with a productivity of 0.65 g/l h. Thus, bio-ethanol production using free and calcium alginate-immobilized C. tropicalis does not require the saccharification step. Furthermore, fed-batch fermentation by free C. tropicalis cells increased the final concentration to 56 g ethanol/l, reaching published values for Saccharomyces cerevisiae recombinant strains expressing both alpha-amylase and glucoamylase.

Published 3 April 2007 in Bioresour Technol, 98(14): 2765-70.
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