Utilization of Sweet Sorghum Juice for Efficient 2,3-Butanediol Production by Serratia marcescens H30

Sweet sorghum juice (SSJ) is considered a good carbon source for biorefinery due to its low price and high fermentable-sugar content. In this study, 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD) production from SSJ by Serratia marcescens H30 was investigated. First, the medium compositions including the contents of SSJ, nitrogen source, and mineral salts were optimized in conical flasks using a single factor and orthogonal design method. Under the optimal conditions, the 2,3-BD concentration reached up to 33.40 g/L. Then the optimized medium was used to perform fermentative experiments in a 5-L bioreactor. In batch experiments, the effects of various agitation speeds on 2,3-BD production were compared. Based on batch process results, an efficient two-stage fermentative control strategy was developed, where the agitation speed was maintained at 300 rpm in the first 12 h and subsequently switched to 200 rpm. About 43.32 g/L 2,3-BD was obtained by using this strategy. Finally, fed-batch fermentation was conducted through feeding the concentrated SSJ and a maximum 2,3-BD concentration of 109.44 g/L with the productivity of 1.40 g/L·h; a yield of 83.02% was achieved. The results showed that SSJ could be used as an economical substrate for efficient 2,3-BD production by S. marcescens H30.