Project Title:
Integrated process for fermentation and separation of organic acids with electrodialysis
Host institute:
The Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) is looking for candidates interested in a post doc position (2 years). VITO will help those candidates in preparing a Marie Curie proposal with a deadline of 11 August 2011. The call for Marie Curie fellowships (IEF and IIF) is now open, more information on
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=395
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=396
VITO is a leading research centre in Flanders (Belgium) in the field of sustainable environmental and (bio)process technology development. More information on www.vito.be.
Project Description
Organic acids (e.g. acetic, lactic, citric, malic, fumaric, gluconic, succinic, itaconic and galacturonic acid) from fermentation broths are widely used products (in e.g. foods, pharmaceuticals, beverages, plastics and detergents) and are thus of a tremendous importance. Besides using an optimized production strain and fermentation, developing cost and energy-saving downstream processes is indispensable to improve the economics of these products.
Traditional techniques for separation and purification of organic acids from the fermentation broth are hampered by undesirable features such as high energy costs for direct distillation, low yield of crystallization, CaSO4-sludge formation by precipitation and acidification, use of hazardous solvents with solvent extraction, high acid, base and water consumption for regeneration of ion-exchange resins and low capacity and short lifetime of adsorbents for adsorption.
Therefore, opportunities arise to lower the environmental impact and operating costs of traditional techniques by using alternative techniques. Electrodialysis (ED) may be a competitive technology for the production and separation of organic acids. The diversity and sophisticated functions of ED allow it to be implemented in a very creative way for ISPR, to concentrate organic acids, convert their salts into acids or a combination of both. A promising set-up contains monopolar and bipolar membranes and allows the direct conversion of an organic salt into the acid and the corresponding base without the addition of strong acids. Integrating ED with fermentation requires pretreatment to reduce the risk of membrane fouling and of precipitation of salts of low solubility.
This technology will be evaluated in small and large (pilot) membrane stacks in various configurations for the separation and concentration of small organic acids. This approach will allow to complement the test work with an evaluation on technical-economical feasibility at full-scale.
Required education/discipline: Phd in bioprocess technology, fermentation technology, membrane technology
Contact persons for more information: Heleen De Wever (heleen.dewever[ at ]vito.be) or Wouter Van Hecke (wouter.vanhecke[ at ]vito.be)
Generic EU Marie Curie Actions Eligibility Criteria:
Applicants should not be either (i) a national of; or (ii) resident for greater than 12 months of the last 36 months in the country of the host institution unless they have spent more than 4 of the last 5 years outside the EU and Associated States.
Link:
Project Title:
Integrated process for fermentation and separation of organic acids with electrodialysis
Host institute:
The Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) is looking for candidates interested in a post doc position (2 years). VITO will help those candidates in preparing a Marie Curie proposal with a deadline of 11 August 2011. The call for Marie Curie fellowships (IEF and IIF) is now open, more information on
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=395
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=396<
Country: Belgium
