Xylitol Production from Rice Straw Hemicellulose Hydrolyzate by Polyacrylic Hydrogel Thin Films with Immobilized Candida subtropicalis WF79

Xylose from rice straw hemicellulose hydrolysate was fermented for xylitol production using Candida subtropicalis WF79 cells immobilized in polyacrylic hydrogel thin films of 200 μm thickness. Cell immobilization was conducted by first suspending the yeast cells in a mixture of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA, hydrophilic monomer), polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEG-DA, crosslinking agent), and benzoin isopropyl ether (photoinitiator). The mixture was then allowed to form polyacrylic hydrogel thin films, between two pieces of glass sheets, by UV-initiated photopolymerization. The hemicellulose of rice straw was hydrolyzed using dilute sulfuric acid at 126°C. The hydrolysate was neutralized with calcium hydroxide. After separating the solid residues and calcium sulfate precipitates by filtration, the hydrolysate was treated with charcoal to partially remove potential inhibitory substances, followed by vacuum concentration to obtain solutions of desired xylose concentrations for yeast fermentation. The thin films with immobilized yeast cells were submerged in the xylose solution from rice straw hydrolysate for fermentation in an Erlenmeyer flask. The maximum yield was 0.73 g of xylitol per gram of xylose consumed. In the 52.5-day long durability test, after 40 d of repeated batchwise operation, the fermentation activities of the cell immobilized in thin films began to decline to a yield of 0.57 g/g at the end.