Method for producing microbial lipids

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for producing microbial lipids.

Claims

1. A method for producing microbial lipids, said method comprising the steps: a) providing an oleaginous microorganism, wherein said oleaginous microorganism is an oleaginous yeast selected from the genus Cutaneotrichosporon, Trichosporon, Cryptococcus, and Apiotrichum; b) growing said oleaginous microorganism in a medium comprising a carbon source and an organic acid, and thereby allowing said oleaginous microorganism to produce microbial lipids, wherein said carbon source is selected from the group consisting of carbohydrates, and amino acids; and wherein said organic acid is selected from the group consisting of acetic acid, malonic acid, oxalic aacid, citric acid, propionic acid, valeric acid, acrylic acid, crotonic acid, butyric acid, Isobutyric acid, isovaleric acid, 3-hydroxybutyric acid, 3-hydroxypropionic acid, 2-hydroxybutyric acid, lactic acid, and the respective salt(s) of such acids, and mixtures of any of said organic acids and/or salts; c) performing a purely enzymatic treatment of said grown oleaginous microorganism without any solvent-based extraction or chemicals-based demulsification, to make said produced microbial lipids amenable for subsequent harvesting, wherein said purely enzymatic treatment of said grown oleaginous microorganism is a treatment of said oleaginous microorganism with a hydrolase, alone, or in combination with/followed by a protease, wherein said hydrolase is obtained from a filamentous fungus that has been cultured in the presence of an inducing system, wherein said inducing system is a component of said oleaginous microorganism; and d) harvesting said produced microbial lipids by a density-based separation method.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said density-based separation method is selected from separation based on natural gravity, gravity-assisted phase separation, and centrifugation, wherein each of said separation based on natural gravity, gravity-assisted phase separation, and centrifugation, is performed alone or in combination with a decantation, aspiration or other mechanical harvesting method.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein steps b) and c) are performed within the same reaction vessel.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein step c) and/or d) results in a lipid-phase, a residual biomass of said oleaginous microorganism and a hydrolysate of said oleaginous microorganism, wherein said method involves a repeated performance of steps b)-d), and wherein said hydrolysate of said oleaginous microorganism resulting from steps c) and/or d) is reused/recycled for performing step b).

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein steps b)-d) are performed 2-n-times, wherein n is an integer, selected from 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, and 50.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said medium used in step b) is a nitrogen-rich medium in which the weight ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C:N) is 80.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said medium used in step b) further comprises a nitrogen source in the form of a protein hydrolysate.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said protease, if present, is selected from proteases produced by Aspergillus sp., Streptomyces sp. or Bacillus sp.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said hydrolase obtained from said fungus is prepared separately as a liquid preparation directly obtained from culturing said fungus, or as a freeze-dried preparation that is subsequently reconstituted in solution.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said hydrolase contains one or several activities selected from cellulase, xyloglucanase, beta-glucosidase, mannanase, xylanase, and laminarinase enzyme activities.

11. The method according to claim 4, wherein said method is performed in fed-batch manner, semi-continuous or continuous mode-manner, wherein said method involves the repeated addition of acetic acid or acetate.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the carbon source is glucose and/or xylose.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the filamentous fungus is selected from Trichoderma, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Aureobasillium and Fusarium.

14. The method according to claim 7, wherein said protein hydrolysate is a peptone or tryptone hydrolysate that comprises animal tissue, plant tissue and/or components of said oleaginous microorganism.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) Furthermore, reference is made to the figures, wherein

(2) FIG. 1 shows the biomass flow involved in embodiments according to the present invention which involve a recycling of some of the products resulting from the performance of the method in particular resulting from a hydrolysis of the oleaginous microorganism.

(3) FIG. 2 shows the biomass growth and feed consumption over the fermentation time using different feeds (a) using acetic acid alone; (b) glucose alone;

(4) FIG. 3 shows the biomass growth feed consumption and lipid accumulation over the fermentation time using different feeds (a) biomass growth and substrate combustion versus fermentation time using both acetic acid and glucose co-fermentation in limited nitrogen medium; (b) Lipid accumulation over versus fermentation over time using both acetic acid and glucose co-fermentation in limited nitrogen medium; (a) biomass growth and substrate combustion versus fermentation time using both acetic acid and glucose co-fermentation in nitrogen rich-medium; and (d) Lipid accumulation over versus fermentation time using acetic acid and glucose co-fermentation in nitrogen rich-medium

(5) FIG. 4 shows the biomass growth, lipid accumulation and feed consuming over the fermentation time using different feeds (a) biomass growth and substrate combustion versus fermentation time using acetic acid and glucose co-fermentation together with Laminaria digitata hydrolysate (b) lipid accumulation and productivity of the culture of (a), expressed both in gL.sup.1 (light gray columns) and in % w/dw biomass (weight percent/per dry weight biomass)(dark gray columns); (c) biomass growth and substrate combustion versus fermentation time using acetic acid and glucose co-fermentation in nitrogen rich medium using a semi-continuous mode, i.e. wherein batches acetic acid are added repeatedly, e.g. 2-times, and biomass is harvested also repeatedly, e.g. 2 times; and (d) lipid accumulation and productivity versus fermentation time using acetic acid and glucose co-fermentation in nitrogen rich medium (again using a semi-continuous mode as in 3a)).

(6) FIG. 5 shows biomass growth and lipid accumulation versus fermentation time using acetic acid and glucose co-fermentation in nitrogen rich medium using a continuous fermentation mode; (a) biomass growth measured by OD600 nm versus fermentation time; (b) biomass growth measured by cell count, versus fermentation time; (c) biomass growth measured by a gravimetric method versus fermentation time; and (d) lipid accumulation and productivity measured by gravimetric method, versus fermentation time.

(7) FIG. 6 shows (a) the relative decrease in biomass weight versus enzymatic hydrolysis time using T. reesei (ATCC 13631); (b) the relative decrease in biomass weight versus the enzymatic hydrolysis time using T. reesei RUT C-30 (ATCC 56765); (c) relative residual biomass weight after 12 and 18 hours incubation with the enzyme systems: Mix 1 (commercial mixture), Mix 2 (commercial mixture), the T. reesei ATCC 13631 and T. reesei RUT C-30 (ATCC 56765) and two controls: control 1=untreated biomass; control 2=biomass incubated under the same conditions, but without hydrolase treatment; (d) the relative released lipid weight after 12 and 18 hours incubation with the enzyme systems: Mix 1 (commercial mixture), Mix 2 (commercial mixture), T. reesei ATCC 13631 and T. reesei RUT C-30 (ATCC 56765), in comparison with released lipids using conventional solvent-extraction (using chloroform: MeOH as a solvent (2:1 (v/v)), and a control in which a biomass was incubated under the same conditions, but without hydrolase treatment. Mix 1: A mixture of Mannanase (Clariant-Switzerland), Cellic Ctec2 (Novozymes-Denmark), Cellic Htec (Novozymes-Denmark) and -glucosidase (Novozymes-Denmark). Mix 2: A mixture of Liquebeet (Clariant-Switzerland), CLA (Clariant-Switzerland), Mannanase (Clariant-Switzerland), 1.3--glucanase (Megazyme-France) and -glucosidase (Novozymes-Denmark).

(8) FIG. 7 shows (a) cell density plot diagrams of C. oleaginosus dell density versus enzymatic hydrolysis time. The cell density plot shows intensity of the forward scatter (FSC) (on the x-axis) and side scatter (SSC) (on the y-axis); (b) the increase in sugar concentration versus enzymatic hydrolysis time; (c) the decrease in cell count of C. oleaginosus versus enzymatic hydrolysis time.

(9) FIG. 8 shows (a) a fluorescence microscope image for yeast cells after 10 hours of enzymatic hydrolysis. The lipid was stained with Nile Red; (b) the culture after enzymatic hydrolysis, wherein the culture had been left overnight on the work bench; (c) the culture after centrifugation (at 9000 g for 20 min); (d) the floated lipid after its decantation without any further purification.

(10) FIG. 9 shows biomass growth, measured by gravimetric method, versus fermentation time using acetic acid and glucose co-fermentation. In cycle 1, the medium used was a nitrogen-rich medium using both glucose and acetic acid, additionally including a peptide hydrolysate. In cycle 2 and 3, the used media included hydrolysate(s) generated in the previous cycle.

(11) FIG. 10 shows the increase of lipid content and productivity, measured as gL.sup.1 (light gray columns) and in % w/dw biomass (weight percent/per dry weight biomass) (dark gray columns), versus fermentation time using only acetic acid (fermentation was performed in a 2-litre flask at a temperature of 28 C., pH 6.5 and pO.sub.250%.

(12) FIG. 11 shows fluorescence microscope images showing a remarkable increase in the cell volume and lipid content for: Glucose-based fermentation in minimal nitrogen medium (on the left) and co-fermentation in nitrogen rich medium (on the right).

(13) FIG. 12 shows the increase in intensity of the forward scatter [FSC] (on x axis) and side scatter [SSC] (on y axis) of an acetic acid and glucose co-fermentation versus fermentation time in nitrogen rich medium. The fermentation was done in a batch of 21-liters, temp.: 28 C., pH 6.5 and pO.sub.250%.

(14) FIG. 13 shows the changes observed in the fatty acid profile (expressed as weight % per weight of total fatty acids) of an acetic acid and glucose co-fermentation versus fermentation time in nitrogen rich medium. The fermentation was done in a batch of 21-liters, temp.: 28 C., pH 6.5 and pO.sub.250%.

(15) FIG. 14 shows the oily yeast culture after a fermentation using both Glucose and acetic acid in co-fermentation and after centrifugation at 15,000 g for 30 min.

(16) FIG. 15 shows electron microscope images for C. oleaginous cells after treatment with a high-pressure homogenizer applying 2400 bar three times.

(17) FIG. 16 shows produced lipid samples under different operation conditions.

(18) FIG. 17 shows a fatty acid profile of a yeast oil obtained after cultivating C. oleaginosus in media using 100% acetic acid.

(19) FIG. 18 shows a fatty acid profile of yeast oil obtained after cultivating C. oleaginosus in medium using a mixture of 90% acetic acid and 10% isobutyric acid.

(20) FIG. 19 shows a fatty acid profile of yeast oil obtained after cultivating C. oleaginosus in medium using a mixture of 90% acetic acid and 10% isovaleric acid.

(21) FIG. 20 shows a fatty acid profile of yeast oil obtained after cultivating C. oleaginosus in medium using a mixture of 90% and 10% crotonic acid.

(22) Moreover, reference is made to the following examples which are given to illustrate not to limit the present invention.

EXAMPLES

(23) 1.1. Maximizing Lipid Productivity

Example 1 (Sole Acetic Acid, Sole Glucose Fermentation for Comparison)

(24) Various fermentation setups (sole acetic acid, sole glucose, co-fermentation of acetic acid and glucose) with nitrogen limited and rich media conditions have been investigated. In the regard to sole-substrate fermentation, sole-glucose fermentation (Medium A) (FIG. 2b) shows a higher biomass productivity over the sole acetic acid (Medium B) (FIG. 2a). However, sole acetic acid fermentation provides a slightly higher lipid productivity (FIG. 10) over the sole glucose fermentation set-up, providing 0.13 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 [Biomass 22 g L.sup.1, lipid 72% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)] and 0.09 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 [Biomass 34 g L.sup.1, Lipid 45% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)] respectively.

(25) Moreover, conventional lipid production with oleaginous organisms is a two stages process, where the first step provides for biomass formation under non-limiting conditions (exponential growth phase), the second lipid induction step (nutrient limitation phase) affords high intracellular lipid accumulation at stagnant cell counts. The present inventors' data demonstrate for the first time that co-fermentation of sugars and an organic acid, e.g. acetic acid, can provide for simultaneous biomass and lipid formation without the need for metabolic stressors, such as nitrogen limitation. Current fermentation strategy has achieved biomass and lipid production rate (Biomass 240 g L.sup.1, Lipid 87% (w/w)) superseding any previously published data. Strain: Cutaneotrichosporon oleaginosus (ATCC 20509) was cultivated in Erlenmeyer flasks containing YPD media broth (10 g.Math.L.sup.1 yeast extract, 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 peptone and 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 glucose) containing antibiotics (10 mg L.sup.1 ampicillin, 10 mg L.sup.1 kanamycin and 12 mg L.sup.1 tetracycline). The flasks were incubated in a rotary shaker at 100 rpm and a temperature of 28 C. for 2 days, then it was used as inoculum Medium A: glucose 30 g L.sup.1, yeast extract 0.5 g L.sup.1, NH.sub.4Cl 0.5 g L.sup.1, KH.sub.2PO.sub.4 2.4 g L.sup.1, Na.sub.2HPO.sub.4.Math.12H.sub.2O 0.9 g L.sup.1, MgSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 1.5 g L.sup.1, FeCl.sub.3.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.08 g L.sup.1, ZnSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.01 g L.sup.1, CaCl.sub.2.Math.2H.sub.2O 0.1 g L.sup.1, MnSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, CuSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, Co(NO.sub.3).sub.2.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1. Medium B: yeast extract 0.5 g L.sup.1, sodium acetate 4.1 g L.sup.1, NH.sub.4Cl 0.5 g L.sup.1, KH.sub.2PO.sub.4 2.4 g L.sup.1, Na.sub.2HPO.sub.4.Math.12H.sub.2O 0.9 g L.sup.1, MgSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 1.5 g L.sup.1, FeCl.sub.3.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.08 g L.sup.1, ZnSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.01 g L.sup.1, CaCl.sub.2.Math.2H.sub.2O 0.1 g L.sup.1, MnSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, CuSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, Co(NO.sub.3).sub.2.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1. 2-L Bioreactor: Fed-Batch cultivation of T. oleaginosus was performed in a 2-L bioreactor (INFORS HT system, Switzerland) with a working volume of 1 L of corresponding media. The temperature was kept constant at 28 C., and the pH of the bioreactor was adjusted to pH 6.50.2 with 1 M NaOH or 1M HCl (incase of glucose fermentation) and 50% acetic acid (in the case of AA fermentation). Stirring (350-1000 rpm) and aeration (1.0-2.0 NL/V of air) were regulated automatically to maintain dissolved oxygen at above of 50%. Foam was prevented by the addition of 0.01% (V/V) of an antifoam agent (Antifoam 204, Sigma Aldrich).

Example 2 (Co-Fermentation of Acetic Acid and Glucose in Limited Nitrogen Medium)

(26) In comparison, the co-fermentation of glucose and acetic acid in limited nitrogen medium (Medium C) (FIG. 3a) reached a biomass of 20 g L.sup.1 with a lipid content of 20% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass) in the first 24 hours)] (FIG. 3b). Whereas at the same time point, individual glucose and acetic acid fermentation biomass reached only 10 g L.sup.1 with a lipid content of 12% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass) and 5 g L.sup.1 biomass with 30% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass) lipid respectively. This corresponds to a lipid productivity of 0.2 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 from first day compared to 0.075 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 with respect to individual glucose and acetic acid batch fermentation.

(27) The lipid productivity, under limited nitrogen conditions, decreased thereafter to 0.18 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 [Biomass 43 g L.sup.1, lipid 73.5% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)] by the fifth fermentation day. The calculated carbon: carbon efficiency was 0.22 g g.sup.1 lipid per total carbon. This decrease can be attributed to the limited nitrogen resources. Strain: Cutaneotrichosporon oleaginosus (ATCC 20509) was cultivated in Erlenmeyer flasks containing YPD media broth (10 g.Math.L.sup.1 yeast extract, 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 peptone and 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 glucose) containing antibiotics (10 mg L.sup.1 ampicillin, 10 mg L.sup.1 kanamycin and 12 mg L.sup.1 tetracycline). The flasks were incubated in a rotary shaker at 100 rpm and a temperature of 28 C. for 2 days, then it was used as inoculum. Media C: glucose 30 g L.sup.1, yeast extract 0.5 g L.sup.1, sodium acetate 4.1 g L.sup.1, NH.sub.4Cl 0.5 g L.sup.1, KH.sub.2PO.sub.4 2.4 g L.sup.1, Na.sub.2HPO.sub.4.Math.12H.sub.2O 0.9 g L.sup.1, MgSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 1.5 g L.sup.1, FeCl.sub.3.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.08 g L.sup.1, ZnSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.01 g L.sup.1, CaCl.sub.2.Math.2H.sub.2O 0.1 g L.sup.1, MnSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, CuSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, Co(NO.sub.3).sub.2.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1. 2-L Bioreactor: Fed-Batch cultivation of T. oleaginosus was performed in a 2-L bioreactor (INFORS HT system, Switzerland) with a working volume of 1 L of corresponding media. The temperature was kept constant at 28 C., and the pH of the bioreactor was adjusted to pH 6.50.2 with 1 M NaOH or 1M HCl (incase of glucose fermentation) and 50% acetic acid (in the case of AA fermentation). Stirring (350-1000 rpm) and aeration (1.0-2.0 NL/V of air) were regulated automatically to maintain dissolved oxygen at above of 50%. Foam was prevented by the addition of 0.01% (V/V) of an antifoam agent (Antifoam 204, Sigma Aldrich).

Example 3 (Co-Fermentation of Acetic Acid and Glucose in Rich Nitrogen Medium)

(28) Interestingly, fermentation based on nitrogen-rich medium (medium D) enhanced the lipid productivity, by the first day, to 0.67 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 (FIGS. 3c & 3d). Notably, nitrogen-rich medium based co-fermentation shows a simultaneous formation of both biomass and intracellular lipids immediately after the start of the fermentation. Under these conditions a lipid content in excess of 70% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass) was achieved by the second day of fermentation. Thereafter, the lipid yield increased further reaching 85% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass) after 120 h. This is the highest intracellular lipid yield ever observed with oleaginous yeasts. Under these experimental conditions the biomass yield also continued to increase linearly without levelling out into a plateau phase (FIG. 3c). The applied acetic acid and sugar co-fermentation protocol improved lipid productivity up to 0.53 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 [Biomass 84 g L.sup.1, 84.9% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)]. However, carbon: carbon efficiency was 0.24 g g.sup.1 lipid per total carbon. Confirmatory, fluorescence microscope imaging indicated a remarkable increase in the cell volume and lipid content (FIG. 11).

(29) Presumably, and without wishing to be bound by any theory, acetic acid can be assimilated from media and converted directly into acetyl-CoA, a general platform metabolite associated with cell growth, lipid biosynthesis and energy metabolism. This transformation is catalyzed by acetate-CoA ligase, which has previously been reported in a transcriptomic analysis of C. oleaginosus. Therefore, acetate-CoA ligase could be an essential enzyme activity leading to the high lipid content associated with a short-cut into the lipid biosynthesis pathway, independent of the relative C: N ratio as reported for sugar based fermentations.

(30) Specifically, acetate-CoA is a central TCA intermediate linked with cellular homeostasis and growth. However, the present inventors' data with using only acetic acid (i.e. with no separate carbon source) indicate that acetate is preferentially channeled in fatty acid biosynthesis and does not ensure cell propagation. In that regard, it is essential to clarify whether biomass production can be induced in parallel with lipid biosynthesis. Concurrent biomass and lipid formation is a key factor for the economic feasibility of the process. In that regard the co-fermentation of a carbon source and an organic acid, e.g. of a sugar and acetic acid, appears to be the most efficient procedure to initiate both rapid biomass propagation and lipid accumulation. Strain: Cutaneotrichosporon oleaginosus (ATCC 20509) was cultivated in Erlenmeyer flasks containing YPD media broth (10 g.Math.L.sup.1 yeast extract, 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 peptone and 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 glucose) containing antibiotics (10 mg L.sup.1 ampicillin, 10 mg L.sup.1 kanamycin and 12 mg L.sup.1 tetracycline). The flasks were incubated in a rotary shaker at 100 rpm and a temperature of 28 C. for 2 days, then it was used as inoculum. Media D: glucose 30 g L.sup.1, yeast extract 0.5 g L.sup.1, peptone 5 g.Math.L.sup.1, sodium acetate 4.1 g L.sup.1, NH.sub.4Cl 0.5 g L.sup.1, KH.sub.2PO.sub.4 2.4 g L.sup.1, Na.sub.2HPO.sub.4.Math.12H.sub.2O 0.9 g L.sup.1, MgSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 1.5 g L.sup.1, FeCl.sub.3.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.08 g L.sup.1, ZnSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.01 g L.sup.1, CaCl.sub.2.Math.2H.sub.2O 0.1 g L.sup.1, MnSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, CuSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, Co(NO.sub.3).sub.2.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1. 2-L Bioreactor: Fed-Batch cultivation of T. oleaginosus was performed in a 2-L bioreactor (INFORS HT system, Switzerland) with a working volume of 1 L of corresponding media. The temperature was kept constant at 28 C., and the pH of the bioreactor was adjusted to pH 6.50.2 with 1 M NaOH or 1M HCl (incase of glucose fermentation) and 50% acetic acid (in the case of AA fermentation). Stirring (350-1000 rpm) and aeration (1.0-2.0 NL/V of air) were regulated automatically to maintain dissolved oxygen at above of 50%. Foam was prevented by the addition of 0.01% (V/V) of an antifoam agent (Antifoam 204, Sigma Aldrich).

Example 4 (Co-Fermentation of Acetic Acid and Brown Algae Hydrolysate Medium)

(31) In the previous runs, a synthetic medium with pure glucose was applied. However, to avoid land use change impact of the co-fermentation, the marine brown algae biomass, L. digitata, served as sugar source. The previously reported L. digitata hydrolysate (reference: Masri, et al, Journal Appl. Energ., 2018, vol. 224, 1-12.) which contains, inter alia, glucose and mannitol as a carbon source, was used in a co-fermentation mode with acetic acid. The co-fermentation of L. digitata hydrolysate with acetic acid resulted in concurrent biomass and lipid formation without nutrient limitation. In addition, the biomass yield surpassed the intracellular lipid formation and due to the higher biomass yield, the total lipid productivity increased with 0.59 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 [Biomass 114 g L.sup.1, 64% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass) lipid]. In this experimental setup, the carbon efficiency was 0.24 g g.sup.1 lipid per total carbon (FIGS. 4a & 4b).

(32) Biofuel and oleochemicals production from converted land creates an inherent carbon debt by releasing 17 to 420 times more CO.sub.2 than the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions that these biofuels would provide. For example, biodiesel from oil palm, which was planted on converted peatland rainforest needs about 423 years to repay the created carbon debt. In contrast, biofuels and oleochemicals made from waste biomass (such as forestry waste) or abandoned agricultural lands incur little or no carbon debt. On other side, such a waste biomass or plantation of abandoned agricultural lands will create a high pressure on the food industry resulting in price increases due to land limitation.

(33) In that regard the present inventors decided to use an enzymatic hydrolysate of the brown algae L. digitata, which they had previously demonstrated to be an excellent fermentation base for C. oleaginous (Masri, et al, Journal Appl. Energ., 2018, vol. 224, 1-12). Moreover, with regard to life cycle impact and process sustainability marine biomass such as brown algae hydrolysate from L. digitata is superior to any terrestrial biomass residues as it does not compete with agricultural activity, grows significantly faster than terrestrial equivalents and can be easily hydrolyzed without energy intensive physicochemical pretreatment which the terrestrial lingo-cellulosic biomass require. Strain: Cutaneotrichosporon oleaginosus (ATCC 20509) was cultivated in Erlenmeyer flasks containing YPD media broth (10 g.Math.L.sup.1 yeast extract, 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 peptone and 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 glucose) containing antibiotics (10 mg L.sup.1 ampicillin, 10 mg L.sup.1 kanamycin and 12 mg L.sup.1 tetracycline). The flasks were incubated in a rotary shaker at 100 rpm and a temperature of 28 C. for 2 days, then it was used as inoculum. L. digitata hydrolysate: Enzymatic hydrolysis of the brown algae samples of Laminaria digitata (L. digitata) was conducted using 5-liter glass bottles (Schott) containing 20 liter of acetate buffer solution (50.0 mM, pH 5.0) and 60.0 g of biomass. The reactions were initiated by adding an enzyme solution and incubating at 50 C. while stirring at 400 rpm using magnetic stirrer for 72 hours. Reaction mixture was then centrifuged for 30 min at 8000 g, followed by cross-filtration (10 kDa membrane made from regenerated cellulose were used with the following parameters: inlet-pressure (P1) 2 bar, repentant-pressure (P2) 0.3-0.5 bar and permeate was open to atmospheric pressure. Flow-rates of repentant and permeate were ca. 2 L.Math.min1 and ca. 0.1 L.Math.min1 respectively. 0.2 m filter capsules were installed at the outlet to sterilize the resulted hydrolysate). 2-L Bioreactor: Fed-Batch cultivation of T. oleaginosus was performed in a 2-L bioreactor (INFORS HT system, Switzerland) with a working volume of 1 L of corresponding media. The temperature was kept constant at 28 C., and the pH of the bioreactor was adjusted to pH 6.50.2 with 1 M NaOH or 1M HCl (incase of glucose fermentation) and 50% acetic acid (in the case of AA fermentation). Stirring (350-1000 rpm) and aeration (1.0-2.0 NL/V of air) were regulated automatically to maintain dissolved oxygen at above of 50%. Foam was prevented by the addition of 0.01% (V/V) of an antifoam agent (Antifoam 204, Sigma Aldrich).

Example 5 (Co-Fermentation of Acetic Acid and Glucose in Rich Nitrogen Mediuma Semi-Continuous Operation Mode)

(34) With respect to economic efficiency, different operation modes were tested. Therefore, a semi-continuous and continuous operation modes were tested in an extended run time.

(35) A semi-continuous operation mode with two harvesting points was run for about 12 days. The two partial harvesting points were conducted at time point of 162 and 234 h, where 40-50% (v/v) of the culture was removed from the bioreactor and replaced with fresh medium E. The initial co-fermentation with N-rich medium (Medium D) and acetic acid over an extended time period is depicted in FIGS. 4c & 4d. As observed previously, biomass and lipid formation was concurrently reaching lipid productivity of 0.57 gL.sup.1 h.sup.1 [biomass 106 gL.sup.1, Lipid 87% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)], after 162 h. At this time, the first harvesting point had taken place by harvesting 40% (v/v) of the culture which results in decreasing the biomass concentration to 69 g L.sup.1.

(36) In the subsequent 42 h of operation, the biomass concentration increased rapidly to reach 235 g L.sup.1. Moreover, the lipid content could surprisingly be maintained above 80% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass) with lipid productivity of 0.90 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1. This was the highest lipid productivity observed at this point of process optimization.

(37) At time point of 234 h, the second harvesting step was performed, where 50% (v/v) of the culture volume was removed (FIG. 4c). Hence, the biomass concentration was decreased to 158 g L.sup.1. Interestingly, the biomass concentration was returned back to 240 g L.sup.1 with a lipid content of 87.5% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass) within the subsequent 32 h of fermentation.

(38) At the end of operation, the total lipid productivity was of 0.8 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 [biomass 240 g L.sup.1 Lipid 87.6% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)]. However, the carbon efficiency with respect to lipid formation was 0.39 g g.sup.1. However, this productivity figure does not take the harvested culture amount in account, which surmounted to 80% (v/v) of the original culture volume. The extremely high cell density and lipid content could be visually manifested though an extremely high viscosity and hydrophobicity of the cells when they were exposed to water. Strain: Cutaneotrichosporon oleaginosus (ATCC 20509) was cultivated in Erlenmeyer flasks containing YPD media broth (10 g.Math.L.sup.1 yeast extract, 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 peptone and 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 glucose) containing antibiotics (10 mg L.sup.1 ampicillin, 10 mg L.sup.1 kanamycin and 12 mg L.sup.1 tetracycline). The flasks were incubated in a rotary shaker at 100 rpm and a temperature of 28 C. for 2 days, then it was used as inoculum. Media D: glucose 30 g L.sup.1, yeast extract 0.5 g L.sup.1, peptone 5 g.Math.L.sup.1, sodium acetate 4.1 g L.sup.1, NH.sub.4Cl 0.5 g L.sup.1, KH.sub.2PO.sub.4 2.4 g L.sup.1, Na.sub.2HPO.sub.4.Math.12H.sub.2O 0.9 g L.sup.1, MgSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 1.5 g L.sup.1, FeCl.sub.3.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.08 g L.sup.1, ZnSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.01 g L.sup.1, CaCl.sub.2.Math.2H.sub.2O 0.1 g L.sup.1, MnSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, CuSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, Co(NO.sub.3).sub.2.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, Media E: yeast extract, 1.0 g.Math.L.sup.1, peptone 1.0 g.Math.L.sup.1, NH.sub.4Cl 0.5 g.Math.L.sup.1, KH.sub.2PO.sub.4 2.4 g.Math.L.sup.1, Na.sub.2HPO.sub.4.Math.12H.sub.2O 0.9 g.Math.L.sup.1 MgSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 1.5 g.Math.L.sup.1, FeCl.sub.3.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.08 g.Math.L.sup.1, ZnSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.01 g.Math.L.sup.1, CaCl.sub.2.Math.2H.sub.2O 0.1 g.Math.L.sup.1, MnSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg.Math.L.sup.1, CuSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg.Math.L.sup.1, Co(NO.sub.3).sub.2.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.1 mg.Math.L.sup.1. 2-L Bioreactor: Fed-Batch cultivation of T. oleaginosus was performed in a 2-L bioreactor (INFORS HT system, Switzerland) with a working volume of 1 L of corresponding media. The temperature was kept constant at 28 C., and the pH of the bioreactor was adjusted to pH 6.50.2 with 1 M NaOH or 1M HCl (in case of glucose fermentation) and 50% acetic acid (in case of AA fermentation). Stirring (350-1000 rpm) and aeration (1.0-2.0 NL/V of air) were regulated automatically to maintain dissolved oxygen at above of 50%. Foam was prevented by the addition of 0.01% (V/V) of an antifoam agent (Antifoam 204, Sigma Aldrich).

Example 6 (Co-Fermentation of Acetic Acid and Glucose in Rich Nitrogen Mediuma Continuous Operation Mode-Upscaling)

(39) To validate the inventors' data at technically relevant scales, a co-fermentation in N-rich medium was conducted at a scale of 25 L. The fermentation was operated in a continuous mode by using a 50% (w/w) acetic acid as continuous dilution. As the yeast initiates significant acetic acid metabolism about 48 h after the start of the experimental run, there is an increasing dilution of the reactor volume as acetic acid feeding was carried out at a 50% (w/w) concentration. In that regard it has to be noted that with increasing acetic acid metabolism over the experimental time period the dilution factor increased consecutively.

(40) Within the first 24 h, the acetic acid feed was 2 kg per day and thereafter increased exponentially to 6 kg at 96 h. At this feeding rate, the culture volume increased by 4.5 L over 96 h [18% (v/v) volume increase], which corresponds to a dilution of 7.5 mL L.sup.1 h.sup.1. This volume increase was compensated by a daily harvest of an equivalent culture volume (4.5 L day.sup.1). After 96 h, a constant OD and cell count (by flow cytometry) could be detected, which was attributed to a balance between the growth rate and the applied dilution factor of the reaction (FIGS. 5a & 5b). However, while the cell count was constant, a continuous increase in biomass formation was measured, which can be attributed to a constant rise in intracellular lipids (FIGS. 5c & 5d). Therefore, the increase in biomass is only due to the expansion of cell volume, which is correlated with a volumetric expansion of intracellular lipid vesicles as detected by flow cytometry (FIG. 12). FIG. 13 shows the changes in the fatty acid profile over the fermentation time.

(41) Based on the current data at 25 L scale, feeding with 50% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass) acetic acid allows for 20% (v/v) harvest of the fermentation volume on a daily basis or continuously without any impact on the culture density. However, scaling up this process to 10,000-L fermenter, the daily harvested volume will be 1800 liter containing 108 kg of oil. This amount can be continuously transferred to the downstream process.

(42) With embodiments of the new process according to the present invention, the present inventors have superseded the best lipid productivities reported for various oleaginous yeasts and cultivation conditions: In that regard the lipid productivity of Lipomyces starkey in a co-fermentation of 90 g L.sup.1 cellobiose and xylose was 0.12 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 [Biomass 31.5 g L.sup.1, lipid 55% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)] (Z. Gong, Q. Wang, H. Shen, C. Hu, G. Jin and Z. K. Zhao, Bioresource Technol., 2012, 117, 20-24). In the case of complex medium, usage of corn stover hydrolysate, for example, leads to a lipid productivity of 0.23 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 [Biomass 48 g L.sup.1, lipid 34% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)] with Rhodotorula graminis(S. Galafassi, D. Cucchetti, F. Pizza, G. Franzosi, D. Bianchi and C. Compagno, Bioresource Technol., 2012, 111, 398-403). Similarly, Rhodosporidium toruloides Y4 cultivated in a 15-L stirred-tank fermenter on glucose afforded a lipid productivity of 0.54 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1, [Biomass 106.5 g L.sup.1, lipid 67.5% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)] (Y. Li, Z. K. Zhao and F. Bai, Enzyme Microbial Technol., 2007, 41, 312-317).

(43) With respect to the reported C. oleaginosus performance, a pH-stat fermentation based on acetic acid attained a productivity of 0.66 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 [Biomass 168 g L.sup.1, lipid 75% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)] (Z. Chi, Y. Zheng, J. Ma and S. Chen, Int. J. Hydrogen Energ., 2011, 36, 9542-9550). Moreover, a genetically optimized strain of Yarrowia lipolytica NS432 accomplished a productivity of 0.73 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 [Biomass 110 g L.sup.1, lipid 77% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)] in a fed-batch glucose fermentation (J. Friedlander, V. Tsakraklides, A. Kamineni, E. H. Greenhagen, A. L. Consiglio, K. MacEwen, D. V. Crabtree, J. Afshar, R. L. Nugent and M. A. Hamilton, Biotechnol. Biofuels, 2016, 9, 77). However, the best literature data were achieved in an oxygen-rich batch culture of Rhodotorula glutinis with a productivity of 0.87 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 [Biomass 185 g L.sup.1, lipid 40% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)](J. G. Pan, M. Y. Kwak and J. S. Rhee, Biotechnol. Lett., 1986, 8, 715-718). With regard to Rhodotorula glutinis, it has to be noted that this oleaginous yeast in addition to triglycerides generates significant amounts of -carotene (terpene based lipids), which may construe the overall lipid yield in this report. Based on the present inventors' current data and cumulative literature reports, it appears that various parameters such as, acetic acid concentration, general media composition, pH, fermentation time, aeration and fermentation system itself can modulate lipid productivity.

(44) At this point of the optimization procedure the present inventors have successfully applied a defined sugar based medium and organic acid, e.g. acetic acid, co-fermentation with C. oleaginous in fed-batch, semi-continuous or continuous process mode, up to a 25 L scale. At that scale, the best lipid productivity of 1.2 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 was achieved with a semi-continuous fermentation mode utilizing synthetic N-rich (medium D) and acetic acid. This figure is a 138% improvement in lipid formation with regard to the best lipid productivity reported for Rhodotorula glutinis. Nonetheless, further increase in lipid yield and productivity was achieved in this study, when the yeast cell hydrolysate was used as a carbon source. Strain: Cutaneotrichosporon oleaginosus (ATCC 20509) was cultivated in Erlenmeyer flasks containing YPD media broth (10 g.Math.L.sup.1 yeast extract, 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 peptone and 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 glucose) containing antibiotics (10 mg L.sup.1 ampicillin, 10 mg L.sup.1 kanamycin and 12 mg L.sup.1 tetracycline). The flasks were incubated in a rotary shaker at 100 rpm and a temperature of 28 C. for 2 days, then it was used as inoculum. Media D: glucose 30 g L.sup.1, yeast extract 0.5 g L.sup.1, peptone 5 g.Math.L.sup.1, sodium acetate 4.1 g L.sup.1, NH.sub.4Cl 0.5 g L.sup.1, KH.sub.2PO.sub.4 2.4 g L.sup.1, Na.sub.2HPO.sub.4.Math.12H.sub.2O 0.9 g L.sup.1, MgSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 1.5 g L.sup.1, FeCl.sub.3.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.08 g L.sup.1, ZnSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.01 g L.sup.1, CaCl.sub.2.Math.2H.sub.2O 0.1 g L.sup.1, MnSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, CuSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, Co(NO.sub.3).sub.2.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1. Media E: yeast extract, 1.0 g.Math.L.sup.1, peptone 1.0 g.Math.L.sup.1, NH.sub.4Cl 0.5 g.Math.L.sup.1, KH.sub.2PO.sub.4 2.4 g.Math.L.sup.1, Na.sub.2HPO.sub.4.Math.12H.sub.2O 0.9 g.Math.L.sup.1 MgSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 1.5 g.Math.L.sup.1, FeCl.sub.3.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.08 g.Math.L.sup.1, ZnSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.01 g.Math.L.sup.1, CaCl.sub.2.Math.2H.sub.2O 0.1 g.Math.L.sup.1, MnSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg.Math.L.sup.1, CuSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg.Math.L.sup.1, Co(NO.sub.3).sub.2.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.1 mg.Math.L.sup.1. 50-L Bioreactor: Fe Fed-Batch cultivation of T. oleaginosus was performed in a 50-L bioreactor (Bio-Engineer, USA) with a working volume of 50 L of corresponding media. The temperature was kept constant at 28 C., and the pH of the bioreactor was adjusted to pH 6.50.2 with 1 M NaOH or 1M HCl (incase fungi fermentation) and 50% acetic acid (in the case of AA fermentation). Stirring (350-800 rpm), aeration (1.0-2.0 NL/V of air) and pressure (0.2-1 bar) were regulated automatically to maintain dissolved oxygen at above 60%. Foam was prevented by the addition of 0.01% (V/V) of an antifoam agent (Antifoam 204, Sigma Aldrich).

(45) 1.2. Downstream Processing and Lipid Recovery

Example 7 (Production of the Hydrolysis Enzymes)

(46) Two mutants of T. reesei, RUT C-30 (ATCC 56765) and (ATCC 13631), were individually cultivated in a 50-liter scale fermenter using glucose as starting carbon source. By the second fermentation day, glucose content in the medium was nearly depleted. Thereafter, the partially purified C. oleaginosus biomass was added to the fermentation medium at concentration of 10 g L.sup.1 (Medium F). Visual observation and subsequent sugar analysis was used to follow the fading of C. oleaginosus cells over time [Data not shown]. This indicates that T. reesei was able to hydrolyze the C. oleaginosus cells and utilize it as a carbon source. By the third day of cultivation the C. oleaginosus cell-debris was completely decomposed. The fermentation continued for another day to stress the fungi and induce maximal hydrolase enzyme secretion. Centrifugation, media filtration with 10-kDa cross-flow filtration and buffer ex-changing was subsequently applied to concentrate, enrich, and purify the hydrolase enzyme. The final enzyme solution was about 1 L with a protein concentration of 3.2-3.5% (w.sub.protein/v.sub.solation) of the enzymes solution from RUT C-30 (ATCC 56765) and (ATCC 13631) respectively.

(47) Four steps were followed to evaluate the enzyme activities: 1incubation with pure polysaccharides, 2incubation with the purified yeast biomass, 3incubation with real culture. Subsequently, and 4scaling to 25-liters to verify the enzyme activities. Fungi: Trichoderma reesei RUT C-30 (ATCC 56765) and (ATCC 13631) was activated in LB media (5 g L.sup.1 yeast extract, 10 g L.sup.1 Tryptone). Then it was used as inoculum for the fermentation Media F: TO cell-wall 10 g.Math.L.sup.1, yeast extract 10 g.Math.L.sup.1, glucose 10 g.Math.L.sup.1, (NH.sub.4).sub.2SO.sub.4 1.4 g.Math.L.sup.1, KH.sub.2PO.sub.4 2 g.Math.L.sup.1, CaCl.sub.2.Math.2H.sub.2O 0.4 g.Math.L.sup.1, MgSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.3 g.Math.L.sup.1, FeSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.005 g.Math.L.sup.1, CoCl.sub.2.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.0037 g.Math.L.sup.1, MnSO.sub.4.Math.H.sub.2O 0.0016 g.Math.L.sup.1, ZnSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.0014 g.Math.L.sup.1. The partially purified Cell-wall was prepared as following: After lipid extraction, residual C. oleaginosus biomass was washed with dd. water three times, dried by lyophilization for 2 days and grinded then it used as feedstock for T. reesei. 50-L Bioreactor: Fe Fed-Batch cultivation of T. oleaginosus was performed in a 50-L bioreactor (Bio-Engineer, USA) with a working volume of 50 L of corresponding media. The temperature was kept constant at 28 C., and the pH of the bioreactor was adjusted to pH 6.50.2 with 1 M NaOH or 1M HCl (incase fungi fermentation) and 50% acetic acid (in the case of AA fermentation). Stirring (350-800 rpm), aeration (1.0-2.0 NL/V of air) and pressure (0.2-1 bar) were regulated automatically to maintain dissolved oxygen at above 60%. Foam was prevented by the addition of 0.01% (V/V) of an antifoam agent (Antifoam 204, Sigma Aldrich).

Example 8 (Evaluation of Produced Enzymes on Pure Polysaccharides-Activity Assay Step 1 and Pure Yeast Biomass-Activity Assay Step 2)

(48) During the incubation of the enzyme solution (at 0.35% (w.sub.enzyme/.sup.dw.sub.substrate)) with pure polymeric sugar substrates, the present inventors could detect cellulase, xyloglucanase, -glucosidase, mannanase, xylanase and laminarinase enzyme activities in both preparations [Data is not shown]. Subsequently, the resulting enzyme systems were tested on purified cell wall preparations of C. oleaginosus. FIGS. 6a & 6b show the decrease of residual biomass weight over the incubation time where just less than 16 and 20% (w/w) biomass remained after 28 hours of incubation with enzyme solution from ATCC13631 and ATCC56765 respectively. Enzyme activity assay: To test the cellulase, xyloglucanase, -glucosidase, mannanase, xylanase and laminarinase enzymatic activities, 50.0 mg of Cellulose, xyloglucan, cellobiose, mannan, xylan and laminarin was incubated with 1 ml of buffer (Na Acetate, 50 mM, pH5.0) and 0.35% (w/w.sub.biomass) of enzyme solution. To test the activity of the enzyme of the C. oleaginosus biomass, 50.0 mg of partially purified Cell-wall was incubated with 1 ml of buffer (Na Acetate, 50 mM, pH 5.0) and 0.35% (w/w.sub.biomass) of enzyme solution. All tests were incubated for 28 hours at 50 C. Gravimetric/sugar analysis (HPLC) were used to follow the hydrolysis.

Example 9 (Evaluation of Produced Enzymes on Fresh Culture-Activity Assay Step 3)

(49) Later, enzyme solutions were tested over a fresh C. oleaginosus culture. For comparison, two mixtures of commercial enzyme systems were prepared. These two mixtures, termed Mix 1 and 2, contained the same enzyme activities as the T. reesei derived enzyme system. The final protein concentration in both mixtures was 14.2-14.5% (w.sub.protein/v.sub.solution) respectively. Individually, 100 l of each of the four enzyme systems was incubated with 1.0 g biomass in 5.0 ml of acetate buffer (50 mM, pH5.0) for 18 hours. Using the same volume of the enzyme preparation leads to a different enzyme/biomass ratio (w/w). In that regard the enzyme:biomass ratio was about 1.4% (w.sub.enzyme/.sup.dw.sub.biomass) in the commercial mixtures and around 0.35% (w.sub.enzyme/.sup.dw.sub.biomass) for the T. reesei generated enzyme system respectively. In the case of the commercial mixtures, 40-48% (w/w) biomass was solubilized compared to 57-63% (w/w) with the T. reesei derived enzyme preparation (FIG. 6c). However, about 40% (w/w) of lipid was released in all preparations (FIG. 6d). Enzyme activity assay-2: The partially purified Cell-wall was prepared as follows: After lipid extraction, residual C. oleaginosus biomass was washed with dd. water three times, dried by lyophilization for 2 days and grinded then it used as feedstock for T. reesei. The commercial Enzyme mixtures are: Mix 1: Mannanase (Clariant-Switzerland), Cellic Ctec2 (Novozymes-Denmark), Cellic Htec (Novozymes-Denmark) and -glucosidase (Novozymes-Denmark). Mix 2: Liquebeet (Clariant-Switzerland), CLA (Clariant-Switzerland), Mannanase (Clariant-Switzerland), 1.3--glucanase (Megazyme-France) and -glucosidase (Novozymes-Denmark).

Example 10 (Evaluation of Produced Enzymes on 25-L ScaleActivity Assay Step 4)

(50) Subsequent to lab-based experiments, the present inventors validated the enzyme-based C. oleaginosus lysis procedure with a 25 L scale fermentation. The initial C. oleaginosus fermentation was carried out as described above, where C. oleaginosus growth was terminated by stopping aeration. At this point no biomass harvest was carried out. Instead, the temperature of the fermenter was increased to 45 C., the pH was adjusted to 4.5 and stirrer speed was increased to 800 rpm to enable subsequent T. reesei hydrolase based lysis of high lipid containing C. oleaginosus cells. Cell lysis was initiated by adding 0.4% (w.sub.enzyme/.sup.dw.sub.biomass) of each T. reesei enzyme preparations [total concentration was of 0.8% (w.sub.enzyme/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)]. After 20 hours of treatment the reaction conditions were modified; pH to 7.0, temperature to 37 C. Later, 0.5% (w.sub.enzyme/.sup.dw.sub.biomass) of the commercial protease preparation (Lavergy, BASF) was added to break down cellular proteins and induce demulsification of reaction, which assists in lipid release.

(51) The time resolved cell lysis and lipid release procedures, were analyzed via flow cytometry based cell counts and HPLC based sugar release. FIG. 7a shows the cell density plot as one population located in the intact cell area (R3). Over the hydrolysis time cell density in area R3 is decreased however, a new population in the smaller area (R4) are generated. This new population represent the cell debris. Cell counts (FIG. 7c) confirm the changes in the density plot by the dropping in the cell count form 98310.sup.6 cell ml.sup.1 before the enzymatic hydrolysis to 13910.sup.6 cell ml.sup.1. Sugar analysis (FIG. 7b) shows the increase in sugar content over the hydrolysis time.

(52) These data were additionally supplemented with fluorescence microscope, which allowed a visual in-sight of the lysis process (FIG. 8a). Thereafter, biomass was subjected to centrifugation where the upper layer fraction contained the released lipid in a surprisingly pure form. In that respect, FIGS. 8b, 8c & 8d show the released lipid after the enzymatic treatment before and after centrifugation. Cumulative data demonstrate that 85% (w/w) of the C. oleaginosus yeast cells were hydrolyzed and about 90% (w/w) of total intracellular lipid was successfully released. 50-L Bioreactor: Fe Fed-Batch cultivation of T. oleaginosus was performed in a 50-L bioreactor (Bio-Engineer, USA) with a working volume of 50 L of corresponding media. The temperature was kept constant at 28 C., and the pH of the bioreactor was adjusted to pH 6.50.2 with 1 M NaOH or 1M HCl (incase fungi fermentation) and 50% acetic acid (in the case of AA fermentation). Stirring (350-800 rpm), aeration (1.0-2.0 NL/V of air) and pressure (0.2-1 bar) were regulated automatically to maintain dissolved oxygen at above 60%. Foam was prevented by the addition of 0.01% (V/V) of an antifoam agent (Antifoam 204, Sigma Aldrich).

(53) The downstream process, in particular lipid extraction, has a significant impact on both economic and ecological process efficiency as well as product quality with regard to certifiable market sectors, such as the food industry. Lipid production downstream process conventionally processed over five steps; density-based biomass concentrating (such as disk-separator), cell destruction (like high a pressure homogenizer), solvent extraction (such as, hexane, or chloroform) and finally solvent separation and recovery (Such as solid/liquid-type separator followed by a single-effect evaporator). In addition to the high cost, many technical obstacles will prevent the industrial application of these processes for the commercial generation of microbial oils. First, the high lipid content (more that 50% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)) of cells prevents efficient separation as cells with a high-lipid content will remain suspended in the supernatant or floated as unfastened layer on the top at high g-force centrifugation (about 50,000 g) (FIG. 14) which make harvesting step inefficient. In the subsequent step, the rigid yeast cells make high pressure homogenization even at steps insufficient. FIG. 15 shows an electron scatter micrograph for yeast cells after 3 cycles of high-pressure homogenization at 2,400 bar (i.e. not treated in accordance with the present invention). Finally, homogenized cells need to be extracted via an organic solvent. To that end, lipids extracted with organic solvents are difficult to certify for high value food and feed applications. Beyond product quality, the organic solvents will accumulate in process water and also cell residue streams, which causes significant environmental issue in valorization or recycling of these process streams.

(54) In this study, the present inventors developed a new in-situ enzymatic treatment process that allows a quantitative cell-lysis and lipid recovery/purification without the need for a pretreatment or application of an organic solvent assisted lipid recovery step. However, the carbohydrate and protein hydrolysis products (the monomeric sugars and amino acids) can potentially be reused in subsequent fermentations since they are not contaminated with any solvent traces.

(55) 1.3. Recycling Biomass and Hydrolysate Fractions

Example 11 (Test of the Yeast Hydrolysate as Fermentation MediumRecycling Experiment)

(56) Initially 500 mL of medium G was used in the first C. oleaginosus cultivation cycle. FIG. 9 shows the initial C. oleaginosus growth rate over the fermentation time. With these experimental set, lipid productivity was 1.23 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 [Biomass 72 g L.sup.1, Lipid 77% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)] after 45 h. At the end of the fermentation (at 138 h) lipid productivity was 0.71 g L.sup.1 h.sup.1 [biomass 115.6 gL.sup.1, Lipid 85% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)].

(57) Subsequently, C. oleaginosus biomass lysis and lipid release was mediated by subsequent gluco-hydrolase and protease treatments as described above. The resulting liquid hydrolysate containing sugars, amino acids and micronutrients was filtered by 10 KDa cross-filter for sterilization and to remove remaining the enzyme residues. Thereafter, the hydrolysate was adjusted to 60 g L.sup.1 glucose and used as the fermentation medium in an additional cultivation cycle.

(58) Interestingly, with this hydrolysate containing fermentation medium, the biomass productivity was considerably increased to 147 g L.sup.1 after 45 h. Concurrent the lipid productivity was recorded to be 2.4 L.sup.1 h.sup.1[biomass 147 g L.sup.1, Lipid 73% (w.sub.lipid/.sup.dw.sub.biomass)]. These results could be exactly reproduced in the following third cultivation run (FIG. 9). The biomass and lipid productivities as well as respective total yields are superior to any of the previous results. Consequently, this data significantly exceeds the best literature values for biomass and lipid productivities by 1.5 and 2.9 fold respectively 45. Moreover, the present inventors' current data indicates that superior biomass and lipid productivities are obtained within the first 45 h of the experiment. Therefore, the present inventors suggest that for cost and mass efficient fermentation a short cultivation time of 45-72 h is sufficient to obtain maximal yields. Media G: Glucose 50-60 g.Math.L.sup.1, yeast extract 5 g.Math.L.sup.1, Peptone 5 g.Math.L.sup.1, (NH.sub.4).sub.2SO.sub.4 1.4 g.Math.L.sup.1, KH.sub.2PO.sub.4 2 g.Math.L.sup.1, CaCl.sub.2.Math.2H.sub.2O 0.4 g.Math.L.sup.1, MgSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.3 g.Math.L.sup.1, FeSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.005 g.Math.L.sup.1, CoCl.sub.2.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.0037 g.Math.L.sup.1, MnSO.sub.4.Math.H.sub.2O 0.0016 g.Math.L.sup.1, ZnSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.0014 g.Math.L.sup.1. 1-L Bioreactor: DASGIP parallel bioreactor System (Eppendorf, Germany) with a working volume of 4 times 1 L of corresponding media. The temperature was varied 28-30 C., and the pH of the bioreactor was adjusted to pH 7.0-6.50.2 with 1 M NaOH or 70-100% acetic acid. Stirring (350-800 rpm), Oxygen ratio (21-100%) and aeration (1.0-2.0 NL/V of air) were regulated automatically to maintain dissolved oxygen at above of pO.sub.250%. Foam was prevented by the addition of 0.01% (V/V) of an antifoam agent (Antifoam 204, Sigma Aldrich).

(59) The present inventors have presented a C. oleaginosus co-fermentation system that enables simultaneous assimilation of both carbon source and organic acid, e.g. sugar and acetic acid leading to concurrently high biomass and lipid yields without the need of nutrient restriction. While the lipid is considered as the main revenue stream for this process, residual biomass after lipid extraction is conventionally deemed a low value side product. In standard processes that rely on solvent assisted lipid extraction/purification, this biomass side stream is contaminated with solvent residues and has to be treated as an environmentally harmful waste stream that has to be disposed under strict regulatory requirements that inherently add process costs.

(60) In contrast to these conventional processes, the present inventors' enzymatic hydrolysis converted yeast biomass residues to fermentable sugars at a total concentration of 18 g L.sup.1, without any involvement of organic solvents. Additionally, the resulting yeast hydrolysate also contains valuable amino acids, soluble phospholipids, minerals and hydrophilic secondary metabolites, which can enhance growth of C. oleaginosus. To that end, recycling of this hydrolysate has many advantages such as saving the raw material and eliminating waste streams. In subsequent experiments the present inventors explored the recycling of C. oleaginosus cell lysate as a fermentation base for repeated batch cultivations and lipid production.

Example 12 (Test Different Operation Conditions)

(61) In this experiment set, different operation conditions were applied. Table 1 shows the applied operation setting.

(62) The results shows that, the status of resulting lipid at 20 C. (Table 1, FIG. 16) is changing from hard/solid to liquid as the fermentation temperature as well as dissolved oxygen is reduced from 28 to 10 and from 70 to 30 respectively. However, low temperature and dissolved oxygen results in dark reddish oil. Adding crotonic acid to the acetic acid in combination with low temperature and dissolved oxygen improves the color of the lipid and makes it very light yellow.

(63) TABLE-US-00001 Growth Dissolved pour point Setting Temperature Oxygen Carbon Lipid status DIN ISO code ( C.) (%) source Organic acid At (20 C.) 3016 ( C.) Color code Setting 1 28 70 Glucose Acetic acid Hard 15 Light Setting 2 28 40 Glucose Acetic acid Hard/with 14 Light little liquid Setting 3 16 50 Glucose Acetic acid viscous 11 Light hard/liquid Setting 4 10 50 Glucose Acetic acid Liquid/turbid 9 Dark yellow/ light reddish Setting 5 10 30 Glucose Acetic acid Liquid clear 8 Dark yellow/ reddish Setting 6 10 50 Glucose Acetic acid/ Liquid clear 5 v. Light crotonic acid yellow Setting 7 10 30 Glucose Acetic acid/ Liquid 5 v. Light crotonic acid highly clear yellow Strain: Cutaneotrichosporon oleaginosus (ATCC 20509) was cultivated in Erlenmeyer flasks containing YPD media broth (10 g.Math.L.sup.1 yeast extract, 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 peptone and 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 glucose) containing antibiotics (10 mg L.sup.1 ampicillin, 10 mg L.sup.1 kanamycin and 12 mg L.sup.1 tetracycline). The flasks were incubated in a rotary shaker at 100 rpm and a temperature of 28 C. for 2 days, then it was used as inoculum. Media D: glucose 30 g L.sup.1, yeast extract 0.5 g L.sup.1, peptone 5 g.Math.L.sup.1, sodium acetate 4.1 g L.sup.1, NH.sub.4Cl 0.5 g L.sup.1, KH.sub.2PO.sub.4 2.4 g L.sup.1, Na.sub.2HPO.sub.4.Math.12H.sub.2O 0.9 g L.sup.1, MgSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 1.5 g L.sup.1, FeCl.sub.3.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.08 g L.sup.1, ZnSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.01 g L.sup.1, CaCl.sub.2.Math.2H.sub.2O 0.1 g L.sup.1, MnSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, CuSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, Co(NO.sub.3).sub.2.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L 1-L Bioreactor: DASGIP parallel bioreactor System (Eppendorf, Germany) with a working volume of 4 times 1 L of corresponding media. The temperature was varied 28-30 C., and the pH of the bioreactor was adjusted to pH 7.0-6.50.2 with 1 M NaOH or 70-100% acetic acid. Stirring (350-800 rpm), Oxygen ratio (21-100%) and aeration (1.0-2.0 NL/V of air) were regulated automatically to maintain dissolved oxygen at above of pO.sub.250%. Foam was prevented by the addition of 0.01% (V/V) of an antifoam agent (Antifoam 204, Sigma Aldrich).

Example 13

(64) In this experiment, the present inventors studied the effect of applying other organic acids as feedstock on the oily yeast growth, lipid accumulation and the fatty acid profile produced oil. Therefore, acetic acid (AA), isobutyric acid (iBA), isovaleric acid (iVA) and crotonic acid (CA) were applied as organic acid source(s) in co-fermentation with glucose. Use of acetic acid within the co-fermentation system was validated in the previous examples. Thus, acetic acid was used as a control in this example.

(65) The four-parallel DASGIP bioreactors system from Eppendorf was selected for this experiment. In bioreactor 1, 100% acetic acid was applied as a source of organic acid, whereas, a mixture of 90% acetic acid in combination with 10% of isobutyric acid, isovaleric or crotonic acid were applied as organic acid mixtures in bioreactors 2, 3 and 4 respectively.

(66) Strain: Cutaneotrichosporon oleaginosus (ATCC 20509) was cultivated in Erlenmeyer flasks containing YPD media broth (10 g.Math.L.sup.1 yeast extract, 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 peptone and 20 g.Math.L.sup.1 glucose) containing antibiotics (10 mg L.sup.1 ampicillin, 10 mg L.sup.1 kanamycin and 12 mg L.sup.1 tetracycline). The flasks were incubated in a rotary shaker at 100 rpm and a temperature of 28 C. for 2 days, then it was used as inoculum.

(67) Media D: glucose 30 g L.sup.1, yeast extract 0.5 g L.sup.1, peptone 5 g.Math.L.sup.1, sodium acetate 4.1 g L.sup.1, NH.sub.4Cl 0.5 g L.sup.1, KH.sub.2PO.sub.4 2.4 g L.sup.1, Na.sub.2HPO.sub.4.Math.12H.sub.2O 0.9 g L.sup.1, MgSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 1.5 g L.sup.1, FeCl.sub.3.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.08 g L.sup.1, ZnSO.sub.4.Math.7H.sub.2O 0.01 g L.sup.1, CaCl.sub.2.Math.2H.sub.2O 0.1 g L.sup.1, MnSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, CuSO.sub.4.Math.5H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.sup.1, Co(NO.sub.3).sub.2.Math.6H.sub.2O 0.1 mg L.

(68) 1-L Bioreactor: DASGIP parallel bioreactor System (Eppendorf, Germany) with a working volume of 4 times 1 L of corresponding media. The temperature was varied 28-30 C., and the pH of the bioreactor was adjusted to pH 7.0-6.50.2 with 1 M NaOH or 100% acetic acid or mixture of acetic acid with other organic acid. Stirring (350-800 rpm), Oxygen ratio (21-100%) and aeration (1.0-2.0 NL/V of air) were regulated automatically to maintain dissolved oxygen at above of pO.sub.250%. Foam was prevented by the addition of 0.01% (V/V) of an antifoam agent (Antifoam 204, Sigma Aldrich).

(69) GC-FID: Fatty acid profiles were measured using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) after methylation. The methylation was briefly done by incubating 1 mg of oil with 1 ml of NaOCH.sub.3 (for 20 min at 80 C.). Then a 1 ml of HCl (37% in Methanol) was and the mixture was incubated again for 20 min at 80 C. Resulted fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were extracted by hexane in injected GC-FID (Shimadzu, Japan). The triglycerol C19:0 was used as an internal standard.

(70) Biomass and lipid accumulation turned out to be similar in all bioreactors. This confirms the possibility to apply iBA, iVA, and CA as feedstock. However and to some extent, GC-FID analysis for the fatty acid profiles showed a varied fatty acid distribution depending on the applied feedstock. FIGS. 17, 18, 19 and 20 show the change in peak intensity of C16:0, C18:0, C18:1, and C18:2, which can be attributed to changes in the fatty acid concentrations contingent on used acid. Moreover, new peaks that refer to a new fatty acid are detected. For instance, FIG. 17 shows the typical fatty acid profile, which is obtained by applying acetic acid as a feedstock. However, applying 10% iBA results in the formation of C17:0 and C17:1 (FIG. 18). Moreover, additional five unknown peaks were formed intensively in the case of applying 10% iVA (FIG. 19).

CONCLUSION

(71) The present inventors demonstrate an integrated operation units for bioconversion of acetic acid and sugar to sustainable lipids at maximized productivity coupled with minimized waste generation and energy consumption. To that end, the cost gap to plant-based lipid was considerably reduced.