Efficient recovery of γ-poly (glutamic acid) from highly viscous culture broth

An efficient strategy for the separation and recovery of gamma -polyglutamic acid (gamma -PGA) from highly viscous broth was developed. This strategy was divided into two processes: The first was to separate gamma -PGA from highly viscous culture broth; the second was to concentrate gamma -PGA solution by ultrafiltration for the reduction of the amount of alcohol required during recovery process with precipitation. By lowering the pH value of culture broth to 3, the viscosity of culture broth and the zeta potential of cell could be reduced to a sixth of the original value at 35 degreesC and a third, respectively. After the acidification of culture broth the energy demand for the separation of gamma -PGA from culture broth by centrifugation could be reduced to 17% of that without it when the centrifugal force was 22,000g. The amount of alcohol required for precipitation could be reduced to a fourth of that generally used without concentration by concentrating 20 g gamma -PGA/L solution to 60 g gamma -PGA/L at pH 5 by ultrafiltration with hollow-fiber membrane cartridge (MWCO 500,000). (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.