Lactic acid (LA) is an important chemical with various industrial applications. Non-food feedstock is
commercially attractive for use in LA production; however, efficient LA fermentation from lignocellulosic
biomass resulting in both high yield and titer faces technical obstacles. In this study, the thermophilic
bacterium Bacillus coagulans LA204 demonstrated considerable ability to ferment glucose, xylose, and
cellobiose to LA. Importantly, LA204 produces LA from several NaOH-pretreated agro stovers, with
remarkably high yields through simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). A fed-batch SSF
process conducted at 50 C and pH 6.0, using a cellulase concentration of 30 FPU (filter paper unit)/g
stover and 10 g/L yeast extract in a 5-L bioreactor, was developed to produce LA from 14.4% (w/w)
NaOH-pretreated non-sterile corn stover. LA titer, yield, and average productivity reached 97.59 g/L,
0.68 g/g stover, and 1.63 g/L/h, respectively. This study presents a feasible process for lignocellulosic
LA production from abundant agro stovers.