Medium-chain carboxylate productions through open-culture fermentation of organic wastes

The growing global demand for petroleum-derived products and alarms concerning to depletion of crude oil have encouraged the conversion of organic wastes into medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), the precursor molecules biofuels. To this end, anaerobic fermentation-based technology has received a great deal of interests, as such eco-friendly technique can produce these value-added chemicals efficiently and sustainably. Open-culture fermen-tation is preferred to generate the said carboxylates given to its lower capital and operating costs than axenic systems. However, the underlying microbial pathways and the microbial interactions are not well understood. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the MCFAs productions from open-culture fermentation would benefit the valorisation of wastes by forming products with higher commercial value. To this end, this review article firstly covered a systematic introduction regarding the MCFAs formations through open-culture fermentation from the aspects of metabolic platforms and competitive bio-reactions. Suitable operational con-ditions and challenges are then scrutinized to discuss the feasibility of up-to-date strategies towards higher productivities. The potential opportunities for improving MCFAs productions biologically are finally proposed based on the content of the review.

Automated summary

This review article provides a systematic introduction to the formation of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) through open-culture fermentation, including metabolic platforms, competitive bio-reactions, operational conditions, challenges, and potential opportunities for improving MCFAs productions biologically.