{"title":"Glycerol Bioconversion to Biofuel and Value-Added Products by Yeasts.","authors":"Kostyantyn Dmytruk, Marta Semkiv, Andriy Sibirny","doi":"10.1093/femsyr/foaf038","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Glycerol, a by-product of biodiesel production, is a versatile polyol used in various industries. Yeasts play a crucial role in converting glycerol into biofuels and value-added products, offering sustainable alternatives to chemical synthesis. This review explores glycerol metabolism in yeasts, focusing on its bioconversion into ethanol, isopropanol, lipids, organic acids, and polyols. Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Yarrowia lipolytica are prominent species for these processes, with metabolic engineering enhancing their efficiency. Ethanol production from crude glycerol, a by-product of the biodiesel industry, is cost-effective compared to traditional feedstocks, while lipid production by oleaginous yeasts supports biodiesel synthesis. Organic acids like succinic, citric, and lactic acids, along with polyols such as erythritol and mannitol, are produced through optimized pathways, achieving high yields. Crude glycerol, despite impurities, is a viable low-cost substrate, with yeast strains adapted to tolerate its contaminants. Challenges include improving strain tolerance and scaling up processes. Future research aims to refine metabolic engineering and fermentation strategies to maximize glycerol's potential as a renewable feedstock for industrial biotechnology.</p>","PeriodicalId":12290,"journal":{"name":"FEMS yeast research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"FEMS yeast research","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/femsyr/foaf038","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Glycerol, a by-product of biodiesel production, is a versatile polyol used in various industries. Yeasts play a crucial role in converting glycerol into biofuels and value-added products, offering sustainable alternatives to chemical synthesis. This review explores glycerol metabolism in yeasts, focusing on its bioconversion into ethanol, isopropanol, lipids, organic acids, and polyols. Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Yarrowia lipolytica are prominent species for these processes, with metabolic engineering enhancing their efficiency. Ethanol production from crude glycerol, a by-product of the biodiesel industry, is cost-effective compared to traditional feedstocks, while lipid production by oleaginous yeasts supports biodiesel synthesis. Organic acids like succinic, citric, and lactic acids, along with polyols such as erythritol and mannitol, are produced through optimized pathways, achieving high yields. Crude glycerol, despite impurities, is a viable low-cost substrate, with yeast strains adapted to tolerate its contaminants. Challenges include improving strain tolerance and scaling up processes. Future research aims to refine metabolic engineering and fermentation strategies to maximize glycerol's potential as a renewable feedstock for industrial biotechnology.
期刊介绍:
FEMS Yeast Research offers efficient publication of high-quality original Research Articles, Mini-reviews, Letters to the Editor, Perspectives and Commentaries that express current opinions. The journal will select for publication only those manuscripts deemed to be of major relevance to the field and generally will not consider articles that are largely descriptive without insights on underlying mechanism or biology. Submissions on any yeast species are welcome provided they report results within the scope outlined below and are of significance to the yeast field.