Abstract

STUDIES ON LACTIC ACID PRODUCTION BY UTILIZATION OF SUGARCANE BAGASSES

Prachi Agarwal*, Ajit Joshi and Himanshu Sharma

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Lactic acid is one of the most important organic acids today, due to its recently gained attention of its biodegradable nature and of its potential polymer application. Results: The maximum catalytic efficiency of HCl hydrolysis (14.6) was obtained under the condition of 0.5% of HCl at 100 oC for 5 h. Medium composition of glucose (5 g/l), peptone (5 g/l) and yeast extract (5 g/l) were found to be a potential substrate for lactic acid fermentation as it gave the optimal lactic acid concentration of 8.7 g/l. Lactococcus lactis represents the most efficient for lactic acid production. Conclusions: The production of lactic acid through biotechnological fermentation has gained interest due to a relatively inexpensive, environmentally friendly and also helps in the production of biodegradable plastics in the run.

Keywords: acid hydrolysis, fermentation, lactic acid, lignin, sugarcane bagasses.