Effects of different C/N-ratios of the growth media on carotenoid and lipid production by the red yeast Rhodotorula glutinis
- Publication Type
- Contribution to conference
- Authors
- Schwemmlein, L., Schneider, T., Graeff-Hönninger, S., French, W.T., Hernandez, R., Claupein, W., Holmes, W
- Year of publication
- 2012
- Published in
- Conference Proceedings – 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
- Editor
- ETA Florence Renewable Energies
- Page (from - to)
- 1778-1782
- Conference name
- 20th EU BC&E - 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
- Conference location
- Mailand (Italien)
- Conference date
- 18. – 22.06.2012
Fossil fuels cannot be used endlessly, thus the interest in research for alternative biofuels has increased. This paper focuses on the production of 3rd generation biodiesel produced by yeasts. In order to increase the economic feasibility of the underlying processes the yeast Rhodotorula glutinis was selected, as it is capable of producing not only lipids, but also carotenoids. The latter can be seen as a valuable by¬product, which can increase the economic feasibility. The carotenoid of the highest interest is ß-carotene. Regarding the lipids, the fatty acid composition is of importance for the properties of producible biodiesel. In this experiment the effects of three different C/N ratios (20:1, 70:1 and 120:1) of an artificially produced growth media after 216 hours of incubation were investigated. The results show, that the C/N ratio is able to influence the composition of the microbial lipids. Regarding the total amount of carotenoids produced, only a tendency was visible. This however was not the case for ߬carotene concentration. Further research has to be conducted, to see if the obtained results can be converted to the use of low cost substrates (e.g. municipal wastes, sewage sludge, wastes originating from agro¬industry or food industry) as feedstock for Rhodotorula glutinis.