Fermentation Strategies for Organic Acid Production

Abstract

Fermentative production of organic acids by using current research can promote the economy as many countries still depend on importing these multiuse product to meet their needs. Organic acids have various applications in the food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and textile industries. Besides their traditional applications, they are also used for manufacturing bioplastics. Organic acids can be produced commercially by either chemical or biological route, where the latter employs fermentation strategies. Production of organic acids by microbial processes is the preferred method due to its high productivity and environment-friendly procedure. Organic acids are low-value and high-volume products, and therefore the use of economical substrates can boost their commercialization. The application of strategies such as recombinant DNA technology (RDT) and metabolic engineering have the capability to develop strains with high organic acid productivity. In this chapter, we will discuss industrially important organic acids (such as lactic acid, citric acid, acetic acid, kojic acid, and itaconic acid), their market potential, biosynthetic pathways, suitable substrates and microorganisms, fermentation and purification strategies, and associated challenges. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.