Bacteria transform leftover apple mash into industrial chemicals
Portugal Rios da Costa Pereira L, Schneider R, Olszewska-Widdrat A, Sturm B, Kaetzl K
Food Forest
The bruised, unsellable apples that get tossed after cider pressing or a bad harvest year can be fermented by bacteria into chemicals used in biodegradable plastics and food preservatives, turning orchard waste into a resource instead of a disposal problem.
When apples get pressed for juice or cider, a lot of pulpy, sugary mash is left over and usually thrown away. Researchers found that specific bacteria can eat the sugars in that mash and produce lactic acid and succinic acid, two chemicals used to make everything from biodegradable plastic to food additives. They even figured out how to skip some expensive cleaning and sterilizing steps, making the process cheaper and more practical at a larger scale.
Key Findings
Heyndrickxia coagulans A203 and Actinobacillus succinogenes DSM 22257 were identified as the best bacterial strains for converting apple mash sugars into lactic acid and succinic acid respectively
Pilot-scale fermentation produced 73.8 g/L lactic acid at a 0.91 g/g yield, and 36.8 g/L succinic acid at a 0.69 g/g yield
A simplified process that skips costly centrifugation and sterilization steps between enzymatic liquefaction and fermentation was successfully scaled up
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists turned waste apples, the mushy leftovers from juice and cider pressing, into two valuable industrial chemicals using bacteria instead of harsh chemical processing. This offers a low-cost way to recycle food waste into materials used in plastics, food preservatives, and more.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Upcycling waste apples into platform chemicals: pilot-scale production of lactic and succinic acids.
The conversion of renewable biological resources into value-added products is essential for supporting the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy. This study explores the use of waste apples-a by-p...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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