Design of a Plant to Produce 20,000 Litres/Day of Citric Acid from Corn Cob Using Aspergillus niger

Andrea Dallacoasta *

Chemical Engineering Department, Federal University of Technology, Minna, P.M.B 65, Niger State. Nigeria.

Benjamin Obinna Uloh

Chemical Engineering Department, Federal University of Technology, Minna, P.M.B 65, Niger State. Nigeria.

Abraham Ben

Chemical Engineering Department, Federal University of Technology, Minna, P.M.B 65, Niger State. Nigeria.

Victor Chukwuebuka Ugochukwu

Chemical Engineering Department, Federal University of Technology, Minna, P.M.B 65, Niger State. Nigeria.

Abdullahi Abdulsalam

Department of Environmental Health and Safety, Maryam Abacha American University of Niger, Niger Republic

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.


Abstract

There has been a considerable interest in utilizing natural agricultural waste materials for the creation of value-added products, such as citric acid, as a more environmentally friendly substitute for sugar molasses. This report describes the plan for a facility that can produce 20,000 liters of citric acid per day by employing Aspergillus niger to convert corn cob, which is a rich source of lignocellulosic material containing cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. These components can be broken down into fermentable sugars for the production of citric acid through submerged fermentation using the fungus Aspergillus niger. This particular technology was selected as the most suitable option, yielding citric acid as the primary product and dry distillery grain as a secondary product. To fulfill the design objective of ensuring high-quality citric acid while minimizing operational, capital, and maintenance costs, and maximizing profit, the plant is designed to produce 20,000 liters of citric acid and 19,942.32 kg of dry distillery grain per day. This requires a daily input of 29,376.30 kg of corn cob and 33,716.85 kg of water. The energy balance indicates that the process is exothermic, generating 4.510 MW of power. The proposed plant design offers a sustainable and cost-effective approach to producing citric acid from corn cob using Aspergillus niger.

Keywords: Citric acid, corn cob, aspergillus niger, design


How to Cite

Dallacoasta , Andrea, Benjamin Obinna Uloh, Abraham Ben, Victor Chukwuebuka Ugochukwu, and Abdullahi Abdulsalam. 2024. “Design of a Plant to Produce 20,000 Litres/Day of Citric Acid from Corn Cob Using Aspergillus Niger”. Asian Journal of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering 7 (1):54-71. https://journalajbge.com/index.php/AJBGE/article/view/124.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

D Iyayosa Andrea, A Abdulsalam, H Uthman, O Sarafa Azeez. “Article no. JMSRR.110513 Original Research Article Andrea et al,”; 2023 Available:https://www.sdiarticle5.com/review-history/110513

DI Andrea, A Abdulsalam, AA Aboje, OS Azeez. “Application of activated rice husk for adsorptive bleaching of groundnut oil: Kinetic, equilibrium and thermodynamic study.” Int Res J Pure Appl Chem. 2023, Dec;24(6):52–72. DOI:10.9734/irjpac/2023/v24i6840.

A Abdulsalam et al. “Kinetic studies of emerging contaminants removal from wastewater using organo modified activated carbon,”; 2023. Available:www.ijisrt.com

A Abdulsalam et al. “Emerging contaminants removal from wastewater using organo-modified bentonite clay.” Journal of Engineering Research and Reports. 2023, oct;25(10):121–144.

DOI:10.9734/jerr/2023/v25i101006.

A Bello, A Mohammed, A Manase, A Abdullahi. “Ascertaining optimum pyrolysis conditions for biochar production from maple sawdust.” Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology; 2021. DOI:10.9734/cjast/2021/v40i4031597.

M Alhassan, M Auta, J Sabo, M Umaru, A Kovo. “CO2 capture using amine-impregnated activated carbon from jatropha curcas shell.” Br J Appl Sci Technol. 2016;14(4) DOI:10.9734/bjast/2016/24253.

A Abdullahi, M Alhassan, AG Isah, KA Sani, OA Olalekan. “Comparative studies on the kinetics of biogas purification using activated Carbon and Zeolite,” in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science; 2018. DOI:10.1088/1755-1315/173/1/012046.

N Arumugam, S Anandakumar. “Mini review on Corncob biomass: A potential resource for value-added metabolites.” European Journal of Experimental Biology. 2016;6(5).

CR Soccol, LPS Vandenberghe C Rodrigues, A Pandey. “New perspectives for citric acid production and application.” Food Technology and Biotechnology. 2006;44(2).

M Papagianni. “Advances in citric acid fermentation by Aspergillus niger: Biochemical aspects,. membrane transport and modeling,” Biotechnology Advances. 2007;25(3).

DOI:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2007.01.002.

Ciriminna R, Meneguzzo F, Delisi R, Pagliaro M. Citric acid: Emerging applications of key biotechnology industrial product. In Chemistry Central Journal. 2017;11(1). Available:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13065-017-0251-y

Behera BC, Mishra R, Mohapatra S. Microbial citric acid: Production, properties, application, and future perspectives. In Food Frontiers. 2021;2(1). Available:https://doi.org/10.1002/fft2.66

La Nauze JM. Aconitase and isocitric dehydrogenases of Aspergillus niger in relation to citric acid production. Journal of General Microbiology. 1966;44(1). Available:https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-44-1-73

Roukas T. Production of Citric Acid from Beet Molasses by Immobilized Cells of Aspergillus niger. Journal of Food Science. 1991;56(3). Available:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1991.tb05409.x

Max B, Salgado JM, Rodríguez N, Cortés S, Converti A, Domínguez JM. Biotechnological production of citric acid. Brazilian Journal of Microbiology. 2010; 41(4) Available:https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-83822010000400005

Cano-Lamadrid M, Calín-Sánchez Á, Clemente-Villalba J, Hernández F, Carbonell-Barrachina ÁA, Sendra E, Wojdyło A. Quality parameters and consumer acceptance of jelly candies based on pomegranate juice “mollar de elche.” Foods. 2020;9(4). Available:https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9040516

Kirk‐Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. In Kirk‐Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology; 2000. Available:https://doi.org/10.1002/0471238961

Ikram-Ul H, Ali S, Qadeer MA, Iqbal J. Citric acid production by selected mutants of Aspergillus niger from cane molasses. Bioresource Technology. 2004;93(2) Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2003.10.018

Darouneh E, Alavi A, Vosoughi M, Arjmand M, Seifkordi A, Rajabi R. Citric acid production: Surface culture versus submerged culture. African Journal of Microbiology Research. 2009;3(9):541-545.

Ali S, Ikram-ul-Haq Qadeer MA, Iqbal J. Production of citric acid by Aspergillus niger using cane molasses in a stirred fermentor. Electronic Journal of Biotechnology. 2002;5(3) Available:https://doi.org/10.2225/vol5-issue3-fulltext-3

Sauer M, Porro D, Mattanovich D, Branduardi P. Microbial production of organic acids: Expanding the markets. In Trends in Biotechnology. 2008;26(2). Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2007.11.006

Wang L, Zhao B, Liu B, Yu B, Ma C, Su F, Hua D, Li Q, Ma Y, Xu P. Efficient production of l-lactic acid from corncob molasses, a waste by-product in xylitol production, by a newly isolated xylose utilizing Bacillus sp. strain. Bioresource Technology. 2010;101(20) Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2010.05.031

Sawant O, Mahale S, Ramchandran V, Nagaraj G, Bankar A. Fungal Citric acid production using waste materials: A mini-review. In Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences. 2018;8(2). Available:https://doi.org/10.15414/jmbfs.2018.8.2.821-828

Dhillon GS, Brar SK, Verma M, Tyagi RD. Recent advances in citric acid bio-production and recovery. In Food and Bioprocess Technology. 2011;4(4). Available:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-010-0399-0

Wanitwattanarumlug B, Luengnaruemitchai A, Wongkasemjit S. Characterization of Corn Cobs from Microwave and Potassium Hydroxide Pretreatment. Int. J. Chem. Biol. Eng. 2012;6.

Show PL, Oladele KO, Siew QY, Aziz Zakry FA, Lan JCW, Ling TC. Overview of citric acid production from Aspergillus niger. In Frontiers in Life Science. 2015;8(3) Available:https://doi.org/10.1080/21553769.2015.1033653

Krishna C. Solid-state fermentation systems - An overview. In Critical Reviews in Biotechnology. 2005;25(1–2). Available:https://doi.org/10.1080/07388550590925383

Papagianni M. Advances in citric acid fermentation by Aspergillus niger: Biochemical aspects, membrane transport and modeling. In Biotechnology Advance. 2007;25(3) Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2007.01.002

Li QZ, Jiang XL, Feng XJ, Wang JM, Sun C, Zhang HB, Xian M, Liu HZ. Recovery processes of organic acids from fermentation broths in the biomass-based industry. In Journal of Microbiology. and Biotechnology. 2015;26(1). Available:https://doi.org/10.4014/jmb.1505.05049

Soccol CR, Vandenberghe LPS, Rodrigues C, Pandey A. New perspectives for citric acid production and application. In Food Technology and Biotechnology. 2015;44(2).

Mussatto S, Teixeira J. Lignocellulose as raw material in fermentation processes. Applied Microbiology an Microbial Biotechnology. 2010;2.

Arumugam N, Anandakumar S. Mini review on Corncob biomass : A potential resource for value-added metabolites. European Journal of Experimental Biology. 2016;6(5).

Steinböck F, Choojun S, Held I, Roehr M, Kubicek CP. Characterization and regulatory properties of a single hexokinase from the citric acid accumulating fungus Aspergillus niger. BBA - General Subjects. 1994;1200(2). Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4165(94)90138-4

Brodeur G, Yau E, Badal K, Collier J, Ramachandran KB, Ramakrishnan S. Chemical and physicochemical pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass: A review. In Enzyme Research. 2011;2011(1). Available:https://doi.org/10.4061/2011/787532

Ashokkumar V, Venkatkarthick R, Jayashree S, Chuetor S, Dharmaraj S, Kumar G, Chen WH, Ngamcharussrivichai C. Recent advances in lignocellulosic biomass for biofuels and value-added bioproducts - A critical review. In Bioresource Technology. 2022;344 Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126195

Wang L, Zhao B, Liu B, Yu B, Ma C, Su F, Hua D, Li Q, Ma Y, Xu P. Efficient production of l-lactic acid from corncob molasses, a waste by-product in xylitol production, by a newly isolated xylose utilizing Bacillus sp. strain. Bioresource Technology. 2010;101(20) Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2010.05.031

Kumar R, Singh S, Singh OV. Bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass: Biochemical and molecular perspectives. In Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. 2008;35(5) Available:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-008-0327-8

Saha BC. Hemicellulose bioconversion. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology 2003;30(5). Available:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-003-0049-x

Saulnier L, Thibault JF. Ferulic acid and diferulic acids as components of sugar-beet pectins and maize bran heteroxylans. In Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 1999;79(3) Available:https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0010(19990301)79:3<396::AID-JSFA262>3.0.CO;2-B

Kristiansen B, Sinclair CG. Production of citric acid in continuous culture. Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 1979;21(2). Available:https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.260210214

Roehr M, Zehentgruber O, Kubicek CP. Kinetics of biomass formation and citric acid production by Aspergillus niger on pilot plant scale. Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 1981;23(11) Available:https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.260231105

Kappeli O, Muller M, Fiechter A. Chemical and structural alterations at the cell surface of Candida tropicalis, induced by hydrocarbon substrate. Journal of Bacteriology. 1978;133(2). Available:https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.133.2.952-958.1978

Habison A, Kubicek CP, Rohr M. Partial purification and regulatory properties of phosphofructokinase from Aspergillus niger. Biochemical Journal. 1983;209(3). Available:https://doi.org/10.1042/bj2090669

Bergès T, Barreau C, Peberdy JF, Boddy LM. Cloning of an Aspergillus niger invertase gene by expression in Trichoderma reesei. Current Genetics. 1993;24(1–2) Available:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00324665

Rubio MC, Maldonado MC. Purification and characterization of invertase from Aspergillus niger. Current Microbiology. 1995;31(2). Available:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00294280

Schreferl-Kunar G, Grotz M, Röhr M, Kubicek CP. Increased citric acid production by mutants of Aspergillus niger with increased glycolytic capacity. FEMS Microbiology Letters. 1989;59(3) Available:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6968.1989.tb03128.x

Hayashi S, Nakamura S. Multiple forms of glucose oxidase with different carbohydrate compositions. BBA – Enzymology. 1981;657(1). Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-2744(81)90128-5

Dronawat SN, Svihla CK, Hanley TR. The effects of agitation and aeration on the production of gluconic acid by Aspergillus niger. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology. 1995);(1):51–52. Available:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02933438

Mischak H, Kubicek CP, Röhr M. Formation and location of glucose oxidase in citric acid producing mycelia of Aspergillus niger. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.; 1985;21(1–2) Available:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00252357

Roukas T, Harvey L. The effect of pH on production of citric and gluconic acid from beet molasses using continuous culture. Biotechnology Letters. 1988;10(4). Available:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01024422

Kubicek-Pranz EM, Mozelt M, Rohr M, Kubicek CP. Changes in the concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in Aspergillus niger during stimulation of acidogenesis by elevated sucrose concentration. BBA - General Subjects. 1990;1033(3). Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4165(90)90128-J

Martin SM, Wilson PW. Uptake of C14O2 by Aspergillus niger in the formation of citric acid. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 1951;32(1). Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-9861(51)90248-2

Cleland WW, Johnson MJ. Tracer experiments on the mechanism of citric acid formation by Aspergillus niger. The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 1954;208(2). Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/s0021-9258(18)65594-2

Meixner-Monori B, Kubicek CP, Rohr M. Pyruvate kinase from Aspergillus niger: A regulatory enzyme in glycolysis? Canadian Journal of Microbiology. 1984;30(1). Available:https://doi.org/10.1139/m84-003

Papagianni M, Wayman F, Mattey M. Fate and role of ammonium ions during fermentation of citric acid by Aspergillus niger. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 2005;71(11). Available:https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.71.11.7178-7186.2005

Jernejc K, Cimerman A, Perdih A. Composition of Aspergillus niger mycelium during growth on productive and unproductive substrates. Journal of Biotechnology. 1992;25(3) Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/0168-1656(92)90166-7

Khalil I, Majumder L, Kamruzzaman Munshi M, Alam K, Begum R, Alam N. Citric acid production by aspergillus niger using molasses and pumpkin as substrates. European Journal of Biological Sciences. 2010;2(1).

Anastassiadis S, Morgunov I, Kamzolova S, Finogenova T. Citric acid production patent review. Recent Patents on Biotechnology. 2008;2(2). Available:https://doi.org/10.2174/187220808784619757

Wyman CE, Decker SR, Brady JW, Viikari L, Himmel ME. Hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose, Research Gate; 2005. Available:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303131858.

Wang L, Yang M, Fan X, Zhu X, Xu T, Yuan Q. An environmentally friendly and efficient method for xylitol bioconversion with high-temperature-steaming corncob hydrolysate by adapted Candida tropicalis. Process Biochemistry. 2011;46(8):1619–1626.