Producción de compuestos de interés económico a partir de los residuos lignocelulósicos de la cereza del café

Abstract

Colombia is currently positioned as one of the leading producers and exporters of mild coffee in the world. However, it is estimated that the annual coffee production generates 784,000 tons of pulp waste, a compound rich in cellulose, a polymer made up of glucose monomers, which can be used for the production of various economically important metabolites such as glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is an amino acid currently used in the production of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and biosurfactants such as sodium cocoyl glutamate. This study evaluated the production of glutamic acid from cellulose using a microbial consortium composed of Corynebacterium glutamicum and two cellulolytic microorganisms (Cellulomonas phragmiteti and Ralstonia pickettii, bacteria capable of hydrolyzing cellulose into glucose and cellobiose). It was confirmed that, although R. pickettii and C. glutamicum were compatible bacteria, they were unable to produce glutamic acid from cellulose together. On the other hand, it was demonstrated that C. glutamicum and C. phragmiteti were able to develop a synergy for glutamic acid production from cellulose.