A hybrid system based on lignocellulosic biomass gasification and syngas fermentation represents a second-generation biorefinery approach that is currently in the development phase. Lignocellulosic biomass can be gasified to produce syngas, which is a gas mixture consisting mainly of H₂, CO, and CO₂. The major challenge of biomass gasification is the syngas’s final quality. Consequently, the development of effective syngas clean-up technologies has gained increased interest in recent years. Furthermore, the bioconversion of syngas components has been intensively studied using acetogenic bacteria and their Wood–Ljungdahl pathway to produce, among others, acetate, ethanol, butyrate, butanol, caproate, hexanol, 2,3-butanediol, and lactate. Nowadays, syngas fermentation appears to be a promising alternative for producing commodity chemicals in comparison to fossil-based processes. Research studies on syngas fermentation have been focused on process design and optimization, investigating the medium composition, operating parameters, and bioreactor design. Moreover, metabolic engineering efforts have been made to develop genetically modified strains with improved production. In 2018, for the first time, a syngas fermentation pilot plant from biomass gasification was built by LanzaTech Inc. in cooperation with Aemetis, Inc. Future research will focus on coupling syngas fermentation with additional bioprocesses and/or on identifying new non-acetogenic microorganisms to produce high-value chemicals beyond acetate and ethanol.

The use of low-cost substrates represents one key issue to make single cell oil production sustainable. Among low-input crops, Arundo donax L. is a perennial herbaceous rhizomatous grass containing both C5 and C6 carbohydrates. The scope of the present work was to investigate and optimize the production of lipids by the oleaginous yeast Cutaneotrichosporon curvatus from undetoxified lignocellulosic hydrolysates of steam-pretreated A. donax. The growth of C. curvatus was first optimized in synthetic media, similar in terms of sugar concentration to hydrolysates, by applying the response surface methodology (RSM) analysis. Then the bioconversion of undetoxified hydrolysates was investigated. A fed-batch process for the fermentation of A. donax hydrolysates was finally implemented in a 2-L bioreactor. Under optimized conditions, the total lipid content was 64% of the dry cell weight and the lipid yield was 63% of the theoretical. The fatty acid profile of C. curvatus triglycerides contained 27% palmitic acid, 33% oleic acid and 32% linoleic acid. These results proved the potential of lipid production from A. donax, which is particularly important for their consideration as substitutes for vegetable oils in many applications such as biodiesel or bioplastics.

Crude glycerol is the main by-product of the biodiesel manufacturing industry (10% w/w). Its use as a substrate in microbial fermentations is a concrete strategy to efficiently address its market surplus. In this study, the conversion of crude glycerol to citric acid, a key biochemical in the emerging bioeconomy, by a wild-type yeast Yarrowia lipolytica DSM 8218 was modelled using the Response Surface Methodology. The model relates C/N mass ratio and crude glycerol concentration to maximize the citric acid yield in flask scale using two different N sources, yeast extract and ammonium sulphate. Under the optimal conditions (yeast extract, C/N 141, glycerol 33 g/L), the conversion yield was 0.249 g/g. The optimal conditions were used for up-scaling a fed-batch fermentation in a 2 L bioreactor highlighting a metabolic shift from mannitol to citric acid when high stirring rates were applied (800 rpm). In these conditions, a morphic transition from pseudo-mycelial form to round-shaped yeast-like cells was observed too.