Lactic acid yielded from lignocellulose a ‘milestone’

Direvo Industrial Biotechnology has announced reaching what it calls an ‘important milestone’ in developing a consolidated bioprocess for lactic acid production from lignocellulose.

The company claims to have built up a processing chain from pretreatment through fermentation to downstream processing for the consolidated bioprocess. On the basis of pretreated miscanthus grass, Direvo fermented lactic acid on pilot scale in a single-step-synthesis.

Direvo uses a self-isolated proprietary microorganism Caldicellulosiruptor sp. to produce the needed enzymes to ferment the pretreated biomass and convert the emerging sugar to end product.

In a statement the company said: ‘On the basis of this proof-of-concept, the next development stage to raise competitiveness in a commercial environment will be to increase the yield of lactic acid.’