Sustainable vancomycin production from industrial residues and the effects of inoculum control to ensure reproducibility

The conversion of biodiesel-derived crude glycerol into value-added products provides a sustainable solution for the biodiesel industry. This study proposed the bioconversion of crude glycerol and soy-based products into vancomycin by Amycolatopsis orientalis (ATCC 19795). The vancomycin yield with crude glycerol as a carbon source was not different from the yield with refined glycerol. The productivity of 32.10 g/L of defatted soy flour and 11.76 g/L of crude glycerol was 621.69 μg/L/h, which was comparable to that of 25 g/L of the yeast extract (679.25 μg/L/h). The medium prepared from crude glycerol and defatted soy flour was cost-effective (US$ 0.48/g vancomycin), and estimated to be 12.34% of the cost from refined glycerol and yeast extract (US$ 3.89/g vancomycin). The inoculum volume of 5% at 30 h allowed a higher yield and minimum error. Biodiesel-derived crude glycerol with defatted soy flour offers a potential feedstock for sustainable vancomycin production. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd