Enhancing Lipid Production from Crude Glycerol by Newly Isolated Oleaginous Yeasts: Strain Selection, Process Optimization, and Fed-Batch Strategy

High lipid-accumulating yeast Trichosporonoides spathulata was newly isolated using crude glycerol as a sole carbon source. After process optimization in a 5-L bioreactor equipped with pH control and aeration system, T. spathulata produced biomass of 11.3 g/L and lipid of 5.01 g/L with a lipid content of 44.3 % using 10 % (w/v) of crude glycerol supplemented only with 0.5 % (w/v) of ammonium sulfate. A one-stage fed-batch feeding with crude glycerol and ammonium sulfate enhanced biomass and lipid production up to 17.3 and 7.25 g/L, respectively, with a lipid content of 41.9 %, while a two-stage fed-batch feeding with only crude glycerol in the second stage led to a lower biomass of 13.8 g/L but a higher lipid production of 7.78 g/L and a higher lipid content of 56.4 %. The fatty acid composition of produced lipid that is similar to plant oil indicates the high potential use of T. spathulata lipid as biodiesel feedstocks.