High butanol production from glycerol by using Clostridium sp. strain CT7 integrated with membrane assisted pervaporation

In this study, a unique butanol-ethanol fermentation process from glycerol integrated with pervaporation by using Clostridium sp. strain CT7 was investigated. 20.4 g/L of butanol and 0.3 g/L of ethanol were produced from 51.3 g/L of glycerol in the PV coupled batch fermentation process with butanol productivity of 0.15 g/L/h and yield of 0.40 g/g due to the reduced butanol inhibition by butanol removal. Subsequently, 41.9 g/L of butanol and 0.4 g/L of ethanol were obtained from 103.3 g/L of glycerol, with butanol productivity of 0.21 g/L/h and yield of 0.41 g/g in the PV coupled fed-batch fermentation process. The high butanol production could be attributed to the thin PDMS layer and negligible transportation resistance of the support. These results indicated the PV coupled fermentation process from glycerol using PDMS/ceramic composite membrane by Clostridium sp. strain CT7 might show a great potential for sustainable biobutanol production from low-cost carbon sources.