Converting Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of Cellulosic Ethanol Fermentation Wastewater into Microbial Lipid by Oleaginous Yeast Trichosporon cutaneum

Cellulosic ethanol fermentation wastewater is the stillage stream of distillation column of cellulosic ethanol fermentation broth with high chemical oxygen demand (COD). The COD is required to reduce before the wastewater is released or recycled. Without any pretreatment nor external nutrients, the cellulosic ethanol fermentation wastewater bioconversion by Trichosporon cutaneum ACCC 20271 was carried out for the first time. The major components of the wastewater including glucose, xylose, acetic acid, ethanol, and partial of phenolic compounds could be utilized by T. cutaneum ACCC 20271. In a 3-L bioreactor, 2.16 g/L of microbial lipid accumulated with 55.05% of COD reduced after a 5-day culture of T. cutaneum ACCC 20271 in the wastewater. The fatty acid composition of the derived microbial lipid was similar with vegetable oil, in which it could be used as biodiesel production feedstock. This study will both solve the environmental problem and offer low-cost lipid feedstock for biodiesel production.