The impact of higher carbon availability on a co-fermentation
process for lactobionic acid production using cheese whey and glucose,
glycerol or lactose as co-substrates was evaluated. Whereas
co-supply of glycerol resulted in higher cell densities but reduced
fermentation performance, lactose feeding stimulated the overproduction
of lactobionic acid with a high volumetric productivity of
2.05 g/L h. A novel co-production system featured by the simultaneous
production of lactobionic and gluconic acid was achieved
via glucose feeding. The substrate versatility of P. taetrolens can
be exploited not only for co-producing two high-value sugar organic acids but also applying biorefinery approaches for
high-yield lactobionic acid production.