CONVERSION OF PINEAPPLE JUICE WASTE INTO LACTIC ACID IN BATCH AND FED – BATCH FERMENTATION SYSTEMS

Abstract

Pineapple juice waste contains valuable components, which are mainly sucrose, glucose, and fructose. Recently, lactic acid has been considered to be an important raw material for the production of biodegradable lactide polymer. The fermentation experiments were carried out in a 3 litres fermentor (Biostat B Model) under anaerobic condition with stirring speed of 50 rpm, temperature at 40oC, and pH of 6.00. Effect of feed concentration on lactic acid production, bacterial growth, substrate utilisation and productivity was studied. The results obtained from fed- batch culture fermentation showed that the maximum lactic acid productivity was 0.44 g/L.h for feed concentration of 90 g/L at 48 hours. Whereas the lactic acid productivity obtained from fed-batch culture was twice and half fold higher than that of batch culture productivity.