Yeast immobilization in LentiKats (R): a new strategy for xylitol bioproduction from sugarcane bagasse

A new PVA-hydrogel matrix for yeast cell immobilization for xylitol bioproduction from sugarcane bagasse was studied. Five repeated-batch fermentation runs were carried out in medium based on sugarcane bagasse hemicellulosic hydrolysate with reuse of the entrapped biocatalyst. The system performance as well as the metabolic behaviour of cells entrapped into the matrix were evaluated. The biocatalyst remained stable and exhibited a similar fermentative profile in all the successive batches, demonstrating the viability of the system. At the end of the run, an average xylitol production was observed of 35.1 g l(-1) and average xylitol yield and productivity of 0.58 g g(-1) and 0.49 g l(-1) h(-1), respectively.